Eat your (Spring) Veggies! A How-To-Roast Post

If you are a health nut, like me, you know your life has to involve some time in the kitchen preparing food.

Everyone could use a time saver when it comes to healthy eating because the reality is…

good food takes time

Even if you are not super health conscious, you can save a ton of dough by putting some forethought into prepping your meals to avoid the “I have nothing to eat in the fridge, so I have to eat out tonight” syndrome.

Who doesn’t want to eat better and save money?

It’s spring, glorious spring and spring veggies are out in full force right now.

One of my favorite methods of preparing them is by roasting. The word <roast> conjures up thoughts of fall and comfort food, but I am telling you…

spring and roasting go hand in hand

If you are bored with your weekly go-to recipes or just can’t bear to eat one more raw celery stick, then change it up and start roasting!

The thing about roasting is it’s easy, healthy, flavorful, and makes for great leftovers.

Besides being a creative side dish for your dinner, roasted veggies are great reheated, added cold to your lunch salad, or made into an entire roasted vegetable salad that can stand alone. How gourmet.

This method of cooking brings out great flavor in your spring veggies, much more complex than steaming or pan frying.

Soon, you will be roasting everything you can get your hands on. Trust me.

Step 1: Choose Your Veggies & Prepare For Roasting

I always try my best to buy in-season, which means that the produce has most likely traveled fewer miles to get to my store and subsequently is fresher, is picked when it’s at its peak, and contains more nutrients. And in health land, the more nutrients, the better!

Asparagus – I prefer the thinner stalks, but if thick is all that’s available, then so be it. I cut off a generous 2+ inches at the bottom and wash and dry thoroughly.
Artichokes- If you choose small artichokes,just cut them in half. With the bigguns’, I prefer to cut in quarters and then cut off the bottom stock to the base of the ‘choke.
Carrots – The best and most flavorful carrots are the ones that have the tops on them still. Cut off the tops, rinse and scrub. Cut either into 2 inch diagonal slices or long-ways into match sticks.
Cabbage – Peel off outer layer and then cut into quarters or slice like bread into 3 inch slices.
Beets – Chop off the greens and save for making soup. Rinse and scrub the beets and then peel off the outer layer with a carrot peeler. Cut into large chunks about 2 inches.
Fennel – Rinse and chop off the fronds at the top. Cut the bulb into big chunks. (If you cut too small, the layers will start to fall apart.)
Mushrooms – Use a moist clean kitchen towel and rub off any bits of dirt. Depending on the type of mushroom, you may want to trim the ends a bit. If the mushrooms are big, like a portobell0, slice into thick slices.
Turnips- Prepare as beets above.
Onions – Vidalia or spring onions are my favorite for roasting. Cut the Vidalias in half and place cut side down on pan. Leave the spring onions whole.

Step 2: Preheat Oven

I roast everything at 400 degrees. It goes fast, which I like, but you have to keep an eye on things fairly closely, lest you burn or over cook your beautiful veggies. You could always take the temperature down to 350, but everything will take more time, of which most of us don’t have.
Also, you’ll want to use a good quality roasting pan or cookie sheet. I do not recommend a non stick pan as that will inhibit caramelization of your veggies and the non-stick coating is not meant for such high heat and could come off in your food – yuck!

Step 3: Choose your Fat

Everyone is afraid of fat, but fat is good for you, people. I’m talking about healthy fats, such as the ones listed below. Many vitamins that are found in these veggies are fat soluble, which means that in order for your body to take in those nutrients and use them, fat needs to be present. The oils I recommend are stable at high heats, meaning they don’t produce free-radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules known to cause cancer. In a nutshell, don’t use cheap oils for roasting , i.e canola oil, safflower oil, vegetable oil etc.

Oils to use for roasting

Avocado Oil - Light and delicious. Great for roasting up to 500 degrees. This is the #1 oil I use for roasting these days.
Coconut Oil - Imparts a coconut flavor to your food. I love the taste, but many find it overpowering. You will want to melt some in a cup before basting on your veggies as it does solidify in colder temperatures. I use this mostly in the fall to roast squash and sweet potatoes.
Ghee – Clarified butter. Great if you can tolerate dairy. Has wonderful taste. I like to use it for mushrooms and I will mix it with avocado oil sometimes too.
Olive Oil - Heavier in taste, nutty, but not as stable at high heat. This is my least favorite “good” oil to roast with, but I added it to the list because most people have olive oil on hand in their pantry. By all means use this if you have it, but I encourage you to try the others listed above as well

Step 4: Assembly & Roasting Times

After selecting your oil, throw chopped veggies in a bowl.
Add oil, coarse salt, pepper, and any other dry herbs or spices. How much you ask? That depends on how many veggies you will be roasting. You want to coat your veggies evenly, but when you are done tossing them in the oil, you don’t want a puddle of oil at the bottom. I usually pour a few generous “glugs” of oil into the bowl, toss, and then add more if need be.
Lay your vegetable in a single layer on your roasting pan. They can touch but should not overlap one another.
In general, I don’t stir them a whole lot.
Watch your veggies. Sample often until you get the texture and done-ness you desire.