We’re featuring another Kitchen Basic recipe today here at mrfarmersdaughter.com! Simple, Roasted Veggies is a staple in our house and that one side dish that I know I can count on to be delicious and ready for the table in just a short amount of time. Its simple ingredients can please everyone and it’s easy to adapt to different palates. Someone doesn’t like cauliflower (I can’t imagine!) then just leave that out. Someone LOVES carrots? Then add more for them! Play with the ratios any way you choose. Adapt the seasonings to your liking too. For a while, I couldn’t have black pepper so I eliminated that from the seasoning mix I put on the veggies. I love garlic and lemons so I add a bunch of them. You choose. This is how you learn to cook!
No recipe card for this one. It’s not needed because the instructions are SO simple. Here it is …
First, preheat your oven to 450˚F. Nice and hot to get that roasted char on the veggies.
Next, choose your pan. Once the oven has reached temperature, you’re going to put the pan in the oven for a few minutes without anything on it to heat up.
Now, choose your veggies. As you can see, I do a mix of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. You can add onions, beets, potatoes (cubed) or any number of your favorites. I prepare about 6 cups total.
Next, choose your oil. I use a mixture of ghee and avocado oil. They both withstand the high heat of the oven pretty well. Their smoke point is somewhere around 450-500˚. I do still turn my fan on though. Toss the veggies with about 3 Tbls. of your oil. Get them all nice and coated so that it helps the seasonings adhere.
Next, choose your seasonings. I use about a Tbls. of chopped garlic (or 1 tsp. of garlic powder), salt, pepper and some onion powder. Sprinkle it on and make sure to stir up the veggies really well so they all get coated.
NOW – here’s a little twist that I learned while food styling. You’re going to add just about 1 tsp. of granulated sugar. Do this with three pinches, sprinkled over the veggies and stirred up well. I add this to help in the roasting process. The veggies won’t really be sweeter but it will help you get a nice, rich, brown roasted color and flavor on each bite. (This is optional, of course. It’s not necessary, just insurance for roasted color and flavor.)
Once the veggies are thoroughly coated with your choice of seasonings, place you pan in the oven. No need to coat it because your veggies will come with their own oil. Allow to heat up for 5 minutes.
Next, without removing the pan from the oven, pull out the oven rack with the pan and carefully pour the veggies on the pan. It should sizzle! Spread them out evenly and allow them to roast for about 10 minutes. Carefully stir the veggies around so that all sides can get some browning and roast until tender, about another 10 minutes depending on the size of your pieces.
Remove from the oven and cover with another pan for 5 minutes. This allows them to soften just a little bit more. Serve immediately.