Roasted vegetables are rich and satisfying. Roasting may take longer than other cooking methods, but the vegetables require minimal preparation and attention. Vegetables roast best in a single layer, so for this recipe you’ll need two large baking pans or several smaller ones. If the vegetables are crowded, they’ll steam and a surface glaze won’t form.
Potatoes, onions, and carrots take about an hour to roast to caramelized perfection. Peppers, sweet potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, and plum tomatoes take only ½ hour. So we put the harder vegetables in the oven about ½ hour before adding the softer vegetables. This recipe serves 4 as a main dish, 8 as a side dish
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or fresh lemon juice
- 5 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary or sage
- 12 boiling onions or 1 large onion, peeled and ends trimmed
- 1 bunch whole tiny carrots with tops or 3 medium carrots
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 12 tiny whole zucchini or 3 medium zucchini
- 2 red and/or yellow bell peppers
- 10 ounces baby portabellos or other firm mushrooms
- 6 to 8 fresh plum tomatoes
- salt to taste
- Preheat the oven to 450°.
- Lightly oil two large baking pans.
- In a bowl, mix together all of the marinade ingredients.
- Score the tops of the boiling onions about one-third of the way down in a tic-tac-toe pattern or thickly slice the large onion.
- Toss with about 1 table-spoon of the marinade to evenly coat and place on a large baking pan.
- If using the boiling onions, position them scored side up.
- Peel the carrots. If using whole tiny carrots, cut off the tops, leaving ½ inch of green.
- If using larger carrots, cut lengthwise into halves and then crosswise into 2-inch pieces.
- Toss with about 1 tablespoon of marinade, add them to the baking pan, and roast the onions and carrots for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the vegetables for roasting.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into generous bite-sized chunks or wedges.
- Leave tiny zucchini whole or halve them lengthwise.
- If using larger zucchini, trim the ends, slice into quarters lengthwise, and then cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces.
- Halve and core the bell peppers and cut into 2-inch squares.
- Trim any tough mushroom stems and cut larger mushrooms in half.
- Halve the plum tomatoes lengthwise.
- Coat each type of vegetable with about 1 tablespoon of marinade.
- When the onions and carrots have roasted for 30 minutes, stir them and lower the oven temperature to 400°.
- Place the newly prepared vegetables on the second large baking pan.
- If there isn't enough room, push the onions and carrots to one end of their pan and add the remaining new vegetables to the hot pan.
- Roast all of the vegetables for 15 minutes, stir well, and continue to roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, until tender and slightly caramelized.
- Add salt to taste and arrange the roasted vegetables on a big platter,
Variation
If you prefer, shorten the oven time by first blanching the harder vegetables
until just crisp-tender, then put all of the vegetables in the oven at
the same time for about ½ hour.
