Roasting vegetables are my jam. They are just so easy to make and always turn out amazing without much effort.
I usually chop whatever I have lying around and toss them on a baking sheet, season and drizzle them with olive oil and throw them in the oven.
I love the fact that you really don’t need to pay them much attention as they caramelize. Just an odd toss every 20/30 minutes, being careful not to mush them. The less you disturb them the better they are.
The trick is to make sure that you never put more than one layer of veggies on the sheet.
This way they can brown without stewing. All the sugars come to the surface the veggies get a gorgeous golden color.
For this version, I chose a lot of the veggies and spices found in classic Italian cooking. But if you don’t like fennel or don’t have eggplant on hand just leave them out.
You can also add veggies or spices you like to this recipe. It is not a strict list and I encourage you to experiment and tweak it to your tastes.
The salty Kalamata olives add a nice briny layer that makes these veggies stand out. I used dried herbs in this recipe but if you have fresh herbs on hand you could use a handful of each instead.
The best part about this dish is it can be made ahead and reheats well. It can be served warm or at room temp.
It is great as a side or toss them with pasta, quinoa, or couscous to make a hearty vegetarian meal. You can also serve them with toasted crostinis as an appetizer.
Buon appetite xxx Chef MM
Italian Style Roasted Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 large eggplant/ 4 Japanese eggplants
- 4 zucchinis
- 1 packet mushrooms
- 1 fennel bulb cut into slivers.
- 2 red onion cut into big chunks
- 1 pack cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup of Kalamata Greek olives cut into 3’s
- ½ cup hot cherry peppers **** (if you want to add some heat)
- 6 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
- Olive oil balsamic vinegar
- 2 TBS brown sugar
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp thyme
- 2 tsp rosemary
- 2 tsp basil
- Coarse salt & black pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400F/200 C
Chop the veggies into large chunks. Split the veggies in half and place on 2 Teflon/foiled lined baking sheets. (Never layer them more than one veggie high to stop them stewing).
Season with sugar, oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, olive oil. Toss the veggies to evenly coat.
Roast for about 45mis /1-hour turning halfway until veggies are nicely browned and caramelized.
These can be served warm or at room temperature alongside the main. You can also toss them with pasta, quinoa or couscous to make a full vegetarian meal or serve the veggies with toasted crostinis as an appetizer.
SERVES 6-8
Notes
You can halve the quantity of veggies and spices to make less. Can be made the day ahead and reheated at 350 F /175 C till the veggies are warmed through or serve at room temp.
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