ROASTED VEGETABLES Serves 8 to 10 By Dennis W. Viau; one of my originals. When you go through all the work of preparing a fancy roast for Sunday or a special occasion, it helps to have something easy to prepare as a side dish. These vegetables are so good, they could stand on their own as a main course. I like to prepare them as a side dish because the oven will be hot anyway; so why not toss in some vegetables and use the same heat? My guests always praise them. They go with many roast meats. Ingredients: Half a butternut squash or a whole small one 1 yam or sweet potato 1 large carrot 1 potato, such as Russet, or several small new potatoes 3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil ½ teaspoon dry oregano flakes ¼ teaspoon dry basil flakes Salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoons olive oil for frying 1 medium onion; chopped 6 button mushrooms or some of the more expensive gourmet mushrooms Directions: First off: There is plenty of room for flexibility here. You can mix different kinds of squash, but avoid those with lots of water in them, such as zucchini or eggplant. You can use different herbs you might like this is a good time to use up some of those spices that have been in the cupboard for many months (or years). Peel the squash (carefully it has a very hard skin). Cut the squash, yam, carrot, and potato into chunks that measure about 1 inch (2.5 cm). Arrange in a 9x13-inch (23x33 cm) baking dish. Coat with the oil and herbs, salt, and pepper, turning with your hands to cover all the pieces evenly. Heat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Roast uncovered for about an hour, until the denser pieces are tender when pierced with a fork, and there is a little browning on some surfaces. While the vegetables are roasting, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the chopped onions until lightly caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing the heat toward the end of the cooking if the onions start to brown too much. Remove from the pan. Sauté the chopped mushrooms, adding oil or butter as desired, and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. When the roasted vegetables are ready to serve, place in a large serving dish and top with caramelized onions and sautéed mushrooms. The Step By Step guide begins on the following page. 1 20110506
1 STEP-BY-STEP 2 Dense, solid vegetables are appropriate for this dish. The mushroom and onion are cooked separately for garnish later. Other root vegetables can be added, as could be other varieties of squash. Every time I make this I vary the ingredients a little. 2 Cube the vegetables to about an inch (2.5cm) in size. These are not cut accurately. The white potatoes are too large and they were a problem while roasting.
3 3 Add extra virgin olive oil and herbs to the bowl with some salt and pepper. Turn the vegetables with your hands until all the pieces are evenly coated. 4 Arrange in a roasting dish or pan. In the experiment pictured here I added some large chunks of onion to be roasted with the other vegetables. The vegetables are chopped more evenly as well. As I said, I vary this dish a lot. There is a lot of room for experimentation with these vegetables. Feel free to be creative.
5 4 For garnish, I prefer to cut the onion in half and then slice it. These longer pieces of onion look great and add a nice flavor when caramelized. 6 To caramelize the onion, heat the oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onions until they start to change color. Reduce the heat if they start to brown too much on the surface. Continue cooking, stirring often, until they are a light brown color. This takes 15 to 20 minuter. Remove from the pan and sauté the chopped mushrooms in the same oil until tender. Additional butter or oil can be added if needed.
7 5 When the vegetables are cooked tender, either garnish with cooked onions and mushrooms, or put the vegetables in a serving platter and then garnish before bringing to the table. 8 Conclusion If the oven is going to be hot for roasting meat or fowl, why not use the same heat for vegetables? The prep work is not difficult, but the end result is a delicious side dish to serve with your roast. I have made these vegetables many times and my dinner guests always enjoy them. It is an easy and excellent way to prepare a side dish.