Learn: Tips for Roasting Veggies

Reading Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat was a game-changer for me. She has so many simple tips to elevate your home cooking. On her Netflix show, she has a segment on roasting veggies. For me, roasting veggies seems very basic. However, I realized I had been doing it the wrong way. Instead of chopping everything up into cubes, throwing it on a tray and roasting, take the time to roast everything separately.

We usually eat roasted veggies as a side to a protein, but I’ve learned that with the right spices and toppings, they can become a meal in their own right. This way of doing it takes a bit more time, but trust me, it’s worth it.

1. Gather all your veggies, wash them and dry them really well. The drier they are, the crispier they will get. I like to keep the veggies in their biggest form. For example, with carrots, I leave them whole and just slice them lengthwise. I call this a tip but really I hate chopping.

My favorite things to roast include: mushrooms, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, tomatoes (yes, you can roast these) and rainbow carrots.

For rainbow carrots, I like to leave a small tip on the end. They get really crunchy and hold a lot of flavor. Elliott thinks this is gross and refuses to eat them, so, more for me. To each their own, ya know.

2. Instead of just pouring olive oil and salt over the top, put the olive oil and salt in a big bowl. Put each type of veggie in the bowl and make sure everything is coated evenly by mixing well with your hands. Lay each type of veggie on its own tray lined with parchment paper or foil. If you don’t have 10 trays, at least separate them out into sections. Try to make sure everything isn’t too scrunched. The veggies need a little space to roast evenly.

3. Heat the oven to 400° and pop the trays in when the oven is ready. Set a timer for 12-13 minutes. Flip your veggies at this halfway point. Set the timer again for another 12-13 minutes. Some things like onions, will be done earlier. Since everything is separated, it’ll be easy for you to remove them if they finish earlier.

After your veggies are done, you can arrange them onto a large board or bowl. My dear friend Sunder gifted me with this beautiful wooden board that I use all the time.

Now, for the fun part. Depending on what kind of meal you are making, I like to make a dressing for the veggies. If you are going Asian style, mix some sesame oil with rice wine vinegar and chopped garlic to drizzle over. If you’re going traditional style, you can mix olive oil and balsamic or red vinegar with shallots. The possibilities are endless. For spices, use this same advice and spice up your initial oil/salt mixtre with flavorings that you think would be great. I always use umami salt or furikake for Asian style roasted veggies. Or, rosemary and thyme when I’m roasting them for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Lastly, take any fresh herbs you have, chop them up and dump them on top of your roasted veggies. You can get even fancier and add some fresh feta cheese for a voila effect!

One last tip: Save all the odds and ends of your veggies!

In this post, I’ll show you how to turn all the waste from the veggies you use into delicious stock for soups.