Roasted Root Vegetables | A Perennial Proven Winner

The roasted root vegetables are similar to the baked Provençal vegetables (tian), which we made a while ago, from My Paris Kitchen. The roasted root vegetable may not have the look. Since there is no cutting and arranging of the vegetables in a prescribed manner like the tian. The beauty of the dish is the concentrated flavor. No other cooking methods could match the deliciousness and healthfulness of oven-roasted vegetables. Because it is convenient to put together root vegetables in one tray and then turn on the oven. In less than an hour, the aroma of the roast wafts through the kitchen, ready to go on the table. I make this dish all the time.

All in one sheet pan but two trays make it easy to adjust roasting time of softer vs. firmer veggies.

The fuss to this dish, as David Lebovitz puts it, is to arrange the cut brussels sprouts and shallots, cut-side down. As a results, they are held together nicely and cooked evenly. Although the one thing to David’s recipe I’d change, would be to put the brussels sprouts and shallots in another sheet pan. Then roast them separately from the other root vegetables. The cooking time for brussels sprouts and shallots is much shorter than the roasting time for the other vegetables: carrots, parsnips, beet, sweet potatoes or fingerling potatoes. That way, you can assure both trays of vegetables will brown evenly.

Depending on the season, I like roasting asparagus in the spring, zucchinis in the summer, butternut or butternut squash and eggplants in the fall. There are very few vegetables I won’t roast. Gather what’s you have on hand. Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil and fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, sage or bay leaves on top of the veggies. Roast at 400°F oven for 20-25 minutes for softer and 45-50 minutes for firmer root vegetables. It always turn out spectacular: in color, taste and texture. A perennial proven winner.

I took out the brussels sprouts and shallots after roasting for 20-25 minutes. The rest took another 20-25 minutes.