Friday, July 12, 2013

Roasted Veggies

Need a simple, gorgeous, nutritious side-dish?

My guest for Shabbos had a food allergy that made pretty much all standard fare verboten. I scoured the internet, and decided roasted vegetables would be the safest. 

My trusty fruit store provided all the variety of vegetables I sought; sweet potato, zucchini (green, yellow, gray), peppers (red, orange, yellow), parsnip (I really love parsnip), carrots, eggplant.

I chopped them all up into bite-sized chunks, tossed them in light olive oil with black pepper and salt, spread them out on a parchment-papered cookie sheet and threw it in a 400 degree oven for an hour or so. 

The results: Boom, baby! 
http://thehungryhusky.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/oven-roasted-vegetables.jpg
Via thehungryhusky.files.wordpress.com
I couldn't stop eating them. The colors are so vibrant they look more like decoration than food, and those same hues testify to the healthy stuff that keeps one healthy, as well as make excess poundage fall off. I kid you not, these have become my primary food group.

Now, want that awesome roasted flavor in a fraction of the time? 

Simply chuck chopped veggies into an oiled pan with a well-fitting lid, dust with salt and pepper, place the flame on low-medium, cover, shake occasionally over 10-15 minutes, adding dashes of water if necessary, and voilĂ ! As much as it hurts me, I must give the credit to the Barefoot Contessa. Blurgle. 

I never used to eat Brussels sprouts before, but guess what? They're like mini-cabbages, and when they caramelize, the heavens sing.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFRuSjZP_gPlo2ohKEB1FFvbrtrMjlLgyyUkcnM6WUswJwOgKoxJKaSrsOKoe1BgfhM9xOJqpE4oycHIsWbf5ZATKYgzydFUsmYEHVTevYiGWpav2gDX1QRZESLk7AwDKikQV61dcqwSxh/s1600/IMG_0921.JPG
Via heartstransformed.blogspot.com
I personally prefer bite-sized chunks of everything, even though sweet potato and parsnip fries are trending at the moment. Then I don't have to bother grating my knife on my plate, or getting my fingers greasy, thank you. 

It is just ridiculously easy to make, to keep warm, and to reheat. Even if it is not directly on the blech or hot plate it is still very tasty. 

4 comments:

tesyaa said...

My husband doesn't eat brussels sprouts because according to his halachic source, they are impossible to check for bugs. And we are in the "modern" end of the community.

It's a shame; I like brussels sprouts, but now I rarely buy them since I try to accommodate his "spiritual" needs.

Anonymous said...

I'm totally going to try this!
Have you ever tried cooking spaghetti squash? I tried it recently but sort of made up the recipe and it didn't come out too well. Any ideas?

Anonymous said...

Frozen brussle sprouts are ok

http://star-k.org/cons-vegdetail.php?ID=13

Princess Lea said...

Tesyaa: *Cough* Perhaps it is best if I remain silent on the subject . . .

Anon1: I have spaghetti squash written up for another post, but you can just shove it whole or cut in half into the oven @ 375-400 for an hour, then it should flake out. It also depends on the squash itself; I think the last two I bought were distinctly old and it did not taste/look good.

Anon2: There you go, Tesyaa.