Roasting Vegetables

During the winter, especially during the northwest cold dreary days, we crave comfort foods. I don't know how many people see roasted vegetable as a comfort food, but it is a big one for me. I love eating roasted vegetables this time of year. If you have never roasted vegetables you are missing out on a flavorful way to get your 5-9 servings a days. From a nutritional standpoint, roasting is not as good as steaming, or eating raw, but sometimes you have to give up a bit of nutrition for some really good taste. Roasted veggies as a quarter of your plate, green salad as half your plate, and a clean protein as the remaining quarter plate and you've got a nutritionally balanced meal.

There are many veggies that are excellent for roasting. Broccoli, asparagus, brussel sprouts, potatoes, onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, yams, parsnips, carrots, beets, squashes and the list goes on. After washing your vegetables cut them into uniform pieces close to 1 inch cubes. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Put the veggies in a large bowl and toss with at least olive oil (use about 1/4 cup oil to 4 cups of veggies), sea salt and pepper. Other add-ins are dried spices - like rosemary, lemon juice, and minced garlic. Place in a shallow roasting pan, in a single layer or one lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees on the middle rack for 30 minutes, stir veggies around a bit, then roast another 30 more minutes or until tender. Yum! Use leftovers in a Roasted Root Vegetable Frittata, or soup or lasagna. I'll share specific recipes for those on another day.