Sunday, March 16, 2008

Roasted Vegetables

DISCLAIMER: When I categorize dishes "Vegetarian", I standardize it on the absence of poultry and meat such as chicken, duck, turkey, beef, or pork. I don't consider ingredients such as eggs which come from poultry or seafood vegetarian because I know many vegetarians who eat these ingredients without complaint.

I love roasted vegetables! They're so juicy, flavorful, vibrant in color, and easy to make. They're also one of my favorite comfort foods. As Alton Brown put it, "Dry heat intensifies flavor by driving off excess moisture, while concentrating and breaking down sugars into other chemicals that just happen to taste really, really good." I couldn't have said it better myself. Roasted vegetables just have an enhanced flavor quality than in its raw form or lightly cooked versions. They're also a great way to use up vegetables past its prime. I have a tendency to buy fresh produce and use them in the beginning for salads until my usage for them wanes. That's when roasted vegetables are in order. One of my guilty pleasures is to have roasted vegetables as a midnight "snack." While I don't recommend consuming them as frequently as I do, I highly recommend this recipe. It's a modified version from the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network. I have incorporated my choice of vegetables and leave the seasoning of salt and pepper until after it comes out of the oven.

Enough extra-virgin olive oil to generously coat vegetables but not enough that the vegetables are soaked
2-3 medium carrots, cut chunky or a bunch of baby carrots
3-5 Russet potatoes, cubed chunky
1-3 zucchinis, cut chunky but a little thinner than the carrots
5-8 garlic cloves with the skin left on

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Place cut vegetables in a large baking dish or cookie sheet. (Cut all the vegetables as evenly and similarly shaped to one another, so they can cook evenly). Drizzle a generous about of extra-virgin olive, so they're coated but not so much that the veggies are drenched. Toss well and add fresh sprigs of thyme or dried thyme will do, as well. Alternatively, you can add other dried herbs such as basil and oregano, a great combination for this dish. Spread the vegetables evenly and place in the middle rack for 40 to 45 minutes. Season with salt and vegetables. I highly recommend Maldon sea salt and freshly cracked black peppercorns.

While there are so many choices for salt varieties, when they're cooked, the chemical compound ends up the same. So, in order to enjoy the flavor of Maldon sea salt, I wait until the last minute so the flavor isn't chemically-altered. When the carrots are lightly browned, the flavor mellows and the texture becomes softer. The potatoes get starchy, so I lose interest in them out of all the vegetables first. Zucchinis are the juiciest and my favorite out of the three. I feel like I never add enough, but that has more to do with availability than anything. I always seem to have less zucchinis on hand than say potatoes.

This dish is so good, though. It even tastes good cold, so feel free to make a large batch and enjoy the next day. I like making these for my friends when they come over because some of them are inconsiderate and show up unexpected and, more times than not, much, much later than agreed upon. I selected these vegetables as they're the most common in my kitchen, as I imagine it is for many others. It's an excellent side dish for virtually any American meal. I certainly wouldn't recommend it for a traditional Japanese meal with rice, natto, sashimi slices, and miso soup. But served as a dish for pasta, grilled chicken, roast chicken, or any kind of chicken is well-complimented.

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