Sunday, February 2, 2014

Roasted Root Vegetables

Happy New Year everyone! And Happy Super Bowl Sunday :) It's been a very blustery winter these past few weeks! 

I grew up in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Delaware (mostly). So when it comes to snow, I have memories of walking on a frozen Lake Erie, our dog getting stuck, and staring at the snow because it was taller than me. In Virginia, it's a little different.... threats of snow or drops of snow mean that school is cancelled for two or three days in a row! My schedule has been very wonky these past few weeks. 

Winter time isn't necessarily my favorite season, but I do love food in winter. One of my dilemmas is often side dishes. I have a nice roasted chicken or a nice pork chop, but what can serve with it that's easy and yummy? 

So, lately I've been on a roasted vegetable kick. If you have not roasted your vegetables before, you are doing life wrong. I grew up with boiled green beans, canned corn, etc- so it's no wonder I didn't want to eat my vegetables! This recipe makes me come back for seconds of veggies, and curl up with them as a snack when there are leftovers. And you can ask my parents, my husband, my friends - I'm not a huge vegetable person. But I love these, so maybe you will too!

Roasted Root Vegetables:

Ingredients:
2 medium turnips
2 large sweet potatoes
1 large red onion
3 carrots
4 tbsp olive oil (3 and 3)
1 tbsp of dried thyme
1/2 tbsp of sage
1 dash of balasmic vinegar
Zest of lemon
Handful chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste


 How I Make them!

This recipe is one that my mother-in-law used for Thanksgiving this past year from Bon Appetit magazine and I'm basically obsessed. I've adapted it to better suit what I typically have on hand. It consists of sweet potatoes (which are not just for marshmellows), red onion, carrots, and turnips.

Turnips are amazing. I didn't know. I feel like I've wasted 24 years of life not eating them. 

Preheat your oven to 425!

Then, you cut up the vegetables into big chunks and put them on a cookie tray! I don't even bother peeling them, but if the skins bother you go ahead and peel them before chopping.



Next, you toss them with olive oil, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper..... and stick them in the oven. After about 30 - 40 minutes, they look like THIIIIISS:



Mmmm, browned and roasted and yummy. Then, you whip up some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and more thyme, and drizzle it on the top. Adding fresh lemon zest and parsley on top also gives it a nice zip. 



Oh yum. Yummmmm. They go well with any winter dish!! :) Like I said before, sometimes I put the leftover ones in a bowl for a snack ---- 




Mmmm so he brown and crispy the tops are? Yummm.

Does anyone else have an epic way to serve vegetables??