[Stella4]

I'm new to liking vegetables and so far I've just been steaming them or eating them raw. There is a lot of buzz on here about roasting vegetables so I would like to know:

1) Which are your fav. veggies to roast?

2) What temp. do you roast veggies at?

3) How do you know when they are done?

4) What do you add, if anything, to enchance flavour? (oil, spices, etc.)

5) Any other tips/suggestions on roasting veggies.


Thanks in advance!!

[Palestrina]

Almost any veggie can be roasted. Root veggies are wonderful like potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, turnips, carrots, etc.

Then there are the soft veggies like eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, squash. And don't forget about cauliflower!

When are they done? They're already done and edible even before you cook them so anything goes. You can roast something slightly or you can roast it for a long time until it falls apart. All up to you so start experimenting with what you like. Here's some of my favorites.

Roasted asparagus - cut the bottom 2 inches off the asparagus and clean under running water. Spread on a cookie sheet, drizzle with a little olive oil, a little salt and a little pepper. Toss to cook and spread them out evenly. Roast at 350 for 10-15 minutes until your desired tenderness.

Roasted carrots - peel whole carrots. Lay on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, ground cumin, and a little ground coriander as well as salt and pepper. Toss to coat all the spices and then roast in the oven for 20 minutes until the carrots are tender.

[murphmitch]

I routinely roast grape tomatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, asparagus, bell peppers & onions. You can also roast green beans. I drizzle them with a little olive oil. I like to use a flavored olive oil I get at Farmer's Market with the spices right in it. I just season with salt & pepper. I roast my veggies on a baking sheet at 375 for about 30 min.

[bacilli]

My favorites are green beans, sweet potatoes, and broccoli. A spray of olive oil from my Misto, a bit of black pepper, red pepper flakes, and cumin for the sweet potatoes, mmm. I roast at 375-425 for 30-45 minutes, depending on the veg, until they start to slightly blacken on the edges.

[LauraLoooo]

I also love roasting veggies. I routinely roast carrots using olive oil, salt and pepper, maybe some other herbs if I want to. I also really enjoy roasting cauliflower and I like to add garlic and parmesan to that. I usually set my oven to around 400 and roast until they start to get some color. I like when the carrots get wrinkled and brown and sweet. This might take 20-40 mins depending on the size of the carrots.

[Renwomin]

I found this page really helpful regarding roasting veggies.

http://mysite.verizon.net/jserdmann/...egetables.html

My only tip is that they roast up very nicely with very, very little oil. I roasted a whole big casserole pan of veggies with only 2 tsp of oil and it came out splendidly. I was really worried they wouldn't brown but they did.

[Stella4]

Thank-you!!

[saef]

Some of the things I have roasted:

Cauliflower, with a bit of cumin, garlic powder & Spanish smoked paprika.

Broccoli, with a bit of cumin, coriander, garlic powder & a bit of chili powder or curry powder

Eggplant, red & green peppers, Vidalia onion & zucchini or yellow squash (or both squashes) with Italian seasoning (or else oregano & basil)

Roasted tomatoes, big ones, sliced, all by themselves, with basil & a touch of oregano (and you can use them in cooking afterward)

Mushrooms, with salt & pepper & balsamic vinegar

Green beans, till they shrivel, and for some reason these do need a touch of salt -- I am generally anti-salt, but these benefit. These are good with a bit of dill added toward the end.

Peaches -- I found out that roasting them is not quite as good as grilling, but almost. Cut them in half, pit them, and flip them over halfway through.

Whole garlic bulbs, with just the tips cut off. So you get that wonderful hummus-like soft garlic inside, to use as a spread or seasoning.

[sarahyu]

Some of my mistakes when it comes to roasting-

don't over crowd the pan.

don't put wet veggies in to cook. Dry them

I do both-over crowd and throw just rinsed veggies in and never get good browning. A friend explained what my problem was recently but since I don't turn the oven on in the summer so I'm waiting for the cooler weather to try it again.

[Hyacinth]

I use balsamic vinegar and olive oil and let them marinade a little before roasting.

My tip is - try to combine vegetables with similar density, or cook the most dense vegetables (carrots, onions) first, and add the softer ones (mushrooms, eggplant) a little later.

[bronzeager]

One of my favorite Sunday lunch places in college had a sandwich with roasted/grilled vegetables called the "Hippie sandwich" (if you added chicken it was the "Hippie Chick") and I finally found the combination: thin sliced (the long way) eggplant, zucchini and onion with a little grated parmesan cheese, on the very tastiest multigrain bread you can find. (Not the square supermarket package bread, but the crusty kind from a bakery.)

I think theirs had garlic aioli on it, but I put some chopped garlic over the vegetables while they were roasting, and a little oregano or fresh basil leaves in between when you put the sandwich together.