Can someone please explain to me step by step how to roast veggies? Is it just baking them? I read about everyone raving about them I want to try it too cause I LOVE veggies!
Also give me a list of veggies that are good roasted.
Thanks so much!
I roast cauliflower, cherry or grape tomatoes, zuchinni(sp), onions, cabbage, and asparagus. I just coat them with extra virgin olive oil add a little salt and pepper then toss them on cookie/baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for anywhere from 25-35 minutes. I like mine still slightly firm but more soft and mushy, so you could probably roast them a shorter amount of time if you like them firm.
I like to roast green and red peppers, onion, mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, garlic, asparagus, carrots. They don't need anything other than a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Yum!
I put my veggies on a large cookie sheet that I have sprayed with cooking spray. I then spray the veggies again and sprinkle on some fresh chopped garlic and a little salt. I pop it in the oven at about 400 degrees til they're nice and brownish mixing um once or twice. The amount of time depends on what I'm roasting. I roast asparagus, green beans, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini to name a few. They're yummy and my whole family loves it as well.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE ROASTED PARSNIPS... Wow... give me parsnips and i'm in HEAVEN!!!!! Yeah stick them in with olive oil and salt and pepper... and BAM... they're yummy. I do them with a few potatoes as well lol... nice small ones coated in olive oil to give them that crispy outside and hot steamy soft inside... Hmm... I feel hungry now.
I just made some roasted parsnips - cut them like French fries, sprayed them with cooking spray and seasoned with cheesy salt. My, oh, my - delicious! They were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside - just like french fries.
1 large red pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
3 roma tomatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 small sweet potato, cut into very tiny chunks
1 huge onion, cut into wedges (which I pull apart)
1 big zucchini, cut into chunks
green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
baby carrots, each baby carrot cut in half, lengthwise
1 small beet, cut into very small chunks
The beets give everything a pretty purpley hue.
I've never tried to roast parsnips, but now I am intrigued!
Potatoes (white and sweet)
Squash
Cauliflower
Eggplant
Red Peppers
Beets (YUM!)
Cut everything into chunks. Optional: drizzle w/a little maple syrup. Brush or drizzle olive oil on everything. Some freshly ground sea salt and pepper. Line the pan w/foil for easier clean-up. 400 degree oven until veg. are done to your liking (toss them once in a while).
I cut up what ever I'm roasting, put it on a baking sheet, then mix in 1-3 teaspoons of olive oil and seasonings (herbs du provence is my fave.) I adjust the oil depending on the amount of servings, you really don't need much oil.
I roast my veggies at 400 degrees F. Time will depend on the veggie you are roasting. Broccoli takes 10-15 mins, but anything with potatoes can take up to 45 mins. You just need to experiment to see what you prefer doneness wise.
I like to roast butternut squash, fingerling potatoes, beets, red bell pepper, fresh cob corn in 1 inch pieces...and whatever else looks good in the produce aisle...
I mix with a little olive oil, garlic, sage, salt and pepper...then lay it on a baking sheet....
I use a gallon ziploc bag to distribute the oil on the veggies, so a tiny bit of oil goes really far. With the bag, even as little as one tsp of oil (I usually use a whopping 2 tsp) can be used for a lot of veggies, because shaking in the bag gets all the nooks and crannies. Then I put in my seasonings (garlic and a little ranch dressing powder is one of my favorites) and shake again.
I like to roast at 400 or even 425, because I love the carmelized almost fried texture it gives the veggies. My absolute favorite for roasting is large chunks of japanese eggplant, skin and all. In my opinion, the large italian or "regular" eggplant is virtually useless (tough skin and really bitter flesh, sometimes even if you leach the bitterness out with salt first). The japanese eggplant doesn't have to be messed with at all before cooking, just wash, slice, and cook (roasted, sauteed, and stir-fried).
I would never have tried the oriental eggplant (comes in shades and stripes of white and pale to fuschia pink, and is long and thin like a zucchini, sometimes straight, and sometimes curved), if a Hmong lady selling veggies at a farmer's market hadn't overheard my wondering outloud to my husband if they were anything like the italian eggplant. She gave me a pretty pink eggplant the size of a large banana to try. She even told me several ways to prepare it. I love farmers markets!
You don't have to use olive oil to roast vegetables, although it tastes so good. You can use Pam spray, which is supposed to be fat free........so very yummy.
It's only fat free if you use a very small amount of it. You're still adding calories and fat when you coat your veggies with it. Still, the sprays are a very good way of controlling the amount of oil you use.
I have one of those misters that Pampered Chef sells which basically works like Pam, just using your own oil. I love brussel sprouts roasted - they get really sweet. I usually cut them in half lengthwise unless they're really small.
Pat I too LOVE brussel sprouts roasted and I too cut them in 1/2. So many people are afraid of them, but they're fabulous. This is gonna sound weird, but they're almost like a delicacy.
Whenever I make them, which is about once a week, and bring them to the table my 17 year old daughters eyes light up and she gets all excited and says (everytime without fail) "Hello my little friends". So yeah, she likes them too.
I also use cooking spray for roasting. It's only zero calories for like a few second spray. I spray more then that, but it gets way better coverage then just drizzling on oil and I figure whatever calories I use on it, are calories well spent.
Roasting Veggies....
I love brussel sprouts roasted - they get really sweet. I usually cut them in half lengthwise unless they're really small.
