Roast a medley of veggies – a treat for all your senses!

Ever want to try new veggies? Afterall, variety is supposed to be the spice of life! And a good mix of colors in your food should mean you’re getting a whole set of good nutrients, too. But some vegetables might be a little scary at first. I have the answer…roast a medley of veggies! It’s a treat for all of your senses!

I set up our church’s kid booth at the local farmer’s market one time and decided to have a rainbow of vegetables. I chose some really interesting things the kids there might not have seen. At the end of the day, I had all these beautiful veggies to take home. I couldn’t just let ‘em rot! But some I’d never eaten myself…and I was reticent.

Then it hit me…roast ‘em! When you roast vegetables tossed in olive oil, they carmelize and soften, releasing their natural sugars and giving them a rich taste. I promise you this has even gotten me to eat beets…not just once either…I’ve done it once a month or more for a couple of years now!

Try new veggies! Be creative!

Really, the skies the limit. But I would suggest you start off by putting some things you know you like with some things you’re unsure about. For example, when I did my first experiment, I had beets and radishes to contend with (beets taste like dirt to me and radishes were way too bitter for me to eat raw). So, I added in onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and carrots. I love all of those…and they made the others tolerable. Plus, the roasting really did a number on the radish taste. So much so, my friend who likes them raw actually didn’t like them roasted. Just totally changed the taste.

Mix and match a colorful rainbow

With the mixture pictured, there’s the purple of the Ichiban eggplant, dark red of the beets, the white and pink of the radishes, orange from the carrots, and green from the beans. You don’t have to have every color represented, but think pleasing for your eyes as well as your mouth!

So many choices!

Choose 3 to 5 vegetables and try different groupings. Here’s some options:

• Zucchini, yellow squash, onion, red bell pepper
• Eggplant, summer squash of your choice, onion and carrots
• Onion, carrots, asparagus, radishes, mushrooms
• Beets, Ichiban eggplant, radishes, onion and green beans
• Parsnips, beets, onion, mushrooms and yellow squash

Just toss 3 or 4 cups of cut veggies (uniform size, but maybe a little smaller for carrot and beet pieces as they take a little longer to cook) with olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Roast on your silicone mat-lined half-baker sheet at 450 degrees till fork-tender, stirring/tossing every 15 minutes. (You could also do this on medium heat in a grill basket!)

Other roasting favorites

All kinds of potatoes and even fall/winter squash are great with this method as well. Just remember, you’ll need a little more time for harder vegetables. But it’s well worth the time! You could even make some sausage on the stovetop while these babies are roasting, then toss with the veggies for an extra special treat (any of these three options would be tasty!)

What will you roast this week?

Look around the produce section on your next grocery visit. What looks interesting that you’d like to try? Pick out one or two of those, then add a few old stand-bys. Truly, your roasted vegetable medley may turn out to be your favorite new dish! Let me know what you put together in the comments below…I might just try your grouping next time!

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