Saturday, April 5, 2008

Mediterranean-Style 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 the taste of roasted vegetables, and I'm usually satisfied with my favorite classic. But I thought I'd try something new, mostly because I saw a picture of this recipe and the glistening tomatoes tempted me. Roasting tomatoes can be a little tricky. It's a fine line between the slightly roasted flavor amplifying the juicy burst and "Cajun-style" burnt and dried out tomatoes. I decided to make this recipe, originally, because of the short cooking time, but I ended up extending it with success. The recipe was unhelpful, so I had to modify it. It stated to preheat your oven to the highest setting possible, which for my oven would definitely crisp and char the tomatoes into flames. So, I set the oven to 425 degrees F, which is the usual setting I use for roasting vegetables. I was supposed to roast for 25-30 minutes, which seemed logical because the tomatoes can't be in the oven as long as the other veggies, but I ended up having to leave them in there for an entire 45 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised by how well-roasted the tomatoes turned out. I naturally expected the zucchinis, carrots, and garlic to roast beautifully, but the tomatoes were a nice treat. I specifically cut the vegetables differently to change my routine and create a different aesthetics, which I recommend to everyone from time to time. Altering a favorite to expand your taste palette and introduce something new is always a good thing. Something as simple as using a different cutting techniques makes an impact.

2 zucchinis, cut into sticks but not very skinny
1 tomato, cut in chunks
A handful of baby tomatoes
5 garlic cloves with the skin on
Extra-virgin olive oil to coat

Roast in a 425 degrees F preheated oven for 45 minutes. Watch the tomatoes carefully and make sure they don't burn.

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