Roasted vegetables are the “Sara Lee” of the refrigerator’s bottom bins: Nobody doesn’t like them. Picky adults? Children? Sic roasted vegetables on ‘em; itap failsafe.
Roasted vegetables go down so well because the roasting caramelizes their native sugars (you can see it in those sticky little brown bits at the edges). Roasted vegetables become much sweeter than they taste in their raw, sometimes nose-upturning state.
Any vegetable roasts: root vegetables such as carrots or beets; cruciferous ones named broccoli or cauliflower; even potatoes and tomatoes. Fungi get that roastin’ feeling. Ever have a roasted portobello mushroom? Heaven.
And wait until you taste a roasted radish. Yep, a roasted radish.
But there are some key kitchen things to keep in mind in order to get roasted vegetables to their peak of flavor.
Roast only at high temperature; 425 degrees works well, 475 if your oven and kitchen can handle it. Caramelization of sugars can occur as low as 250 degrees; it just takes a long time, but also dries out the vegetable. Itap a quick and sure thing at higher temperatures.
Assure that the cut-up vegetables are dry. Water steams at a little over 200 degrees but steam very much gets in the way of caramelization; in fact, it prevents it. So, once the vegetable pieces are prepared for roasting, roll them around, over and under paper or kitchen toweling, to dry off all the pieces.
This also means giving the pieces of vegetables space while roasting. If the pieces touch and crowd each other, the moisture within them will steam out and also impede caramelization.
Most recipes recommend a light coating of good olive oil and seasonings before roasting. The gloss of oil simply will not stick to the pieces of vegetables if they’re wet.
I roast on a baking sheet, but one covered in parchment paper. It makes for easier cleanup, plus the caramelization works pretty much just as well as on naked metal.
But perhaps the most important factor in roasting vegetables is timing: Each different vegetable has its own best amount of time for its proper roast.
That may mean roasting in stages — one sort of vegetable before adding another sort, and so on — or roasting each type of vegetable separately, then combining all of them back together again.
No matter: What you want is the ultimate, the maximum of caramel, of sweetness. And roasting time in the oven is the only herald that tells that story.
So, coat the vegetable pieces in the olive oil and seasoning, and roast at 425 degrees for the following amounts of time depending on the vegetable, turning the pieces over with a spatula or hearty shake once or twice during the roasting time:
- Hard, dense vegetables such as potato, sweet potato, carrot, beet, rutabaga, or turnip, in 1-inch or slightly smaller chunk: 30-45 minutes
- Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli or cauliflower, in medium-small floret, or Brussels sprouts, halved: 15-30 minutes depending on size and age
- Firm, dense winter squashes such as butternut or acorn, in 1-inch or slightly smaller chunk: 30-60 minutes depending on size and age
- Soft, moist vegetables such as “summer” squashes (for example, zucchini), yellow squash, bell pepper, in 1-inch or slightly smaller chunk: 10-20 minutes
- Long, thin vegetables such as asparagus or green pole bean, in 2-inch lengths: 10-20 minutes
- Onions of any color, nearly completely peeled and in quarters or small wedges, depending on initial size: 30 minutes or more
- Tomatoes and mushrooms, whole or in 2-inch chunk depending on initial size: 15-20 minutes
Basic roasted beets
From “Roasting: A Simple Art,” Barbara Kafka; serves 1-2 persons as a side dish.
(Bill St John note: Beets are best roasted by themselves, not in the same pan with other vegetables. If not, they tend to “bleed” and make everything, well, beet red.)
Ingredient
- 1 pound whole beets (4-5 beets)
Directions
Trim stems to 1/2 inch. Rinse well. Use smallest pan that will hold beets comfortably. Slick beets and pan with 3/4 teaspoon fat. Roast on center rack of 500-degree oven for 30-40 minutes, depending on size of beets. When beets are just cool enough to touch, slip off skins if removing.
Reach Bill St John at bsjpost@gmail.com