Roasted Vegetables

The time has come.

To talk side dishes for the holidays. Thanksgiving is 3 weeks, 3 WEEKS away. Where has the time gone? Where has Fall gone? We had snow here the other day, SNOW. It melted right away, but nonetheless, it was snow. So ew and so not ready.

Come back sunny 65 degree weather days. Waaaaah.

So yes, the time has come to talk side dishes for things like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yes, even Christmas. Roasted vegetables are not only zee perfect side dish for any meal, but they are so beautiful and would go quite nicely with dining room table Thanksgiving decor stuff. Not a decorator here friends, not a decorator…

Did I mention how beautiful these are? Look at the colors and the caramelization…oh the beauty of 450 degree ovens.

Now I am going to be honest with you. These do take some work, but it’s easy. It’s all about timing and placement. I decided to use carrots, a red bell pepper, a red onion, zucchini, and butternut squash. These vegetable go so well together, but they don’t all agree on cooking times so you gotta watch them and when they’re done, take them out and let the other roast until they’re ready. Also, you have to make sure they’re spread out…give them a little room so they can breathe, literally. Overcrowding the vegetables on the pan will make them steam versus roast and you will have soggy veggies and not s0 pretty veggies. Still tasty, but not as good as ROASTED veggies. There’s a difference.

Phew. ok. The hard part is over.

I added salt, pepper, sage, and a little maple syrup to these bad boys and let me tell you…Fall flavor heaven. If you don’t like sage, you can use rosemary, thyme, or even parsley.

I attended a cooking class once with my friend Julia from A Cedar Spoon and the chef drizzled maple syrup over some roasted veggies. I about fell over when I tried them. Maple syrup isn’t just for pumpkin french toast or pancakes friends. It’s for veggies too…who knew?

Is it Thanksgiving yet?

Roasted Vegetables

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Stuckonsweet.com: Jessica from www.stuckonsweet.com

Recipe type: Side Dish

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 zucchini, diced
• 4 carrots, diced (I used colored ones, but orange is just fine too)
• 1 small butternut squash (can substitute sweet potatoes or yams), diced
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced (I used red)
• 5 medium-large sized sage leaves, minced
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Maple Syrup

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line 3 baking sheets with aluminum foil.
2. Make sure all of the vegetables are diced about the same size - this will help them roast more evenly.
3. Add the bell pepper and red onion to a bowl and drizzle about 2 teaspoons of olive oil on them. Make sure they are all coated evenly with olive oil. Place them on one of the baking sheets, spreading them out so they are not overcrowded.
4. Next, add the zucchini to the bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Add them to one side of your second baking sheet making sure they are spread out evenly. Do the same with the carrots and add them next to the zucchini, again spreading them out evenly. Finally, add the butternut squash to a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and place them on your third baking sheet. This is a lot of work, but if the vegetables are overcrowded on the baking sheet they will steam instead of roast. Also, they will roast at different times so this allows you to remove them when they are done. Lastly, drizzling them with olive oil in a bowl keeps the baking sheet dry allowing the vegetables to roast better.
5. Place them all in the oven.
6. Roast the zucchini for about 15 minutes then remove with tongs. Place the carrots back in the oven as they will roast longer. Roast the bell pepper and red onion for about 18 minutes, remove from the oven. Roast the carrots and butternut squash for about 23-25 minutes then remove from the oven.
7. Put all of the vegetables in bowl, season with salt and pepper, add sage and maple syrup and gently mix. Taste for seasoning.

Notes

Cooking times my vary depending on your oven. The vegetables are done when the edges start to crisp up and become dark. Check the vegetables often during roasting.

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