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| | To roast vegetables is a great way to cook them and concentrate their flavors. Plus, it requires a low amount of work, and the dish mostly takes care of itself in the oven. Roasted vegetables is great to add in a variety of recipes. Of course you could simply serve the vegetables along with some nicely cooked meat; however you could also use it as a base for soups, stews or other dishes. Another nice idea is to use left over roasted vegetables for omelet fillings, quiches, pizzas, sandwiches etc...
So what kind of vegetables can you roast? Well, basically any root vegetables as well as most above ground vegetables. Great ones to roast include potatoes, beets, onions, winter squash, peppers, tomatoes, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, broccoli etc...
The secret to roasting good vegetables is to not rush them; to apply a liberal amount of oil and to season well. For hard root vegetables such as turnips, potatoes and beets as well as winter squashes, we like to cut them in wedges or cubes, coat with oil, salt and perhaps some spices and herbs and roast in a 350 degree oven for almost an hour. For above ground vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower as well as peppers you can go less time. It depends on the type of vegetable. Broccoli for instance is great to roast for about 20 minutes, whereas tomatoes don't even need to go more than 10 minutes, unless you're looking for a longer, lower temperature roast to achieve a sun dried tomatoes-like texture and flavor.
If you want to roast different kinds of vegetables in the same pan, then start out with the hardest ones, then after perhaps 20-30 minutes, add the remaining and let cook until everything is well done.
Ideally roasted vegetables should have some color, be slightly sweet, and soft and have a nice roasted flavor.
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