I'm excited to be kicking off my Foundations Series with a technique that I use almost weekly - roasting! This edition will focus on roasting vegetables and Part II will be about roasting a chicken. I used asparagus as an example, but potatoes would be a classic application of this technique. I also love to roast squash, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and fennel. Roasting is a great way to add flavor to your vegetables because they become brown, carmelized and full of flavor. And as our friend Anne Burrell would remind us - brown food is tasty food.
The method is quite simple. Crank your oven up to 450 degrees while you prep the vegetables. All of the vegetables should be approximately the same size. Asparagus can remain whole, but vegetables like mushrooms and potatoes should be halved, quartered, or largely chopped to be about the same size. When roasting potatoes I particularly enjoy using new or fingerling potatoes since they are already small and have a deliciously tender skin. For most things I like a larger size for roasting, but I will sometimes roast a small dice of sweet potatoes for a lovely sweet potato hash brown.
Let's discuss seasoning for a moment. At the most basic level roasting necessitates olive oil, salt, and pepper. I like to use a flakey sea salt for the flavor of larger crystals when I roast, but plain table salt will work just fine. Other seasoning can work too. I like to add cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon to sweet potatoes. Garlic and herbs are often appropriate for potatoes and mushrooms. Woody herbs like thyme are rosemary are fine to roast in the oven but more delicate herbs like basil should be tossed with the hot vegetables after roasting. Lemon zest is also a great ingredient to toss in after roasting - especially with asparagus.
Once consideration for seasoning have been made toss the vegetable with seasoning, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Take care to coat the the vegetables with olive oil, but don't put too much on. You want the pan to be dry enough get a good brown on the vegetables. Put the foil lined pan of vegetables on the bottom rack of the oven so it is closest to the heating element and cook for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through for even browning. (Asparagus might take closer to 20 minutes - keep an eye on them!)
Let's discuss seasoning for a moment. At the most basic level roasting necessitates olive oil, salt, and pepper. I like to use a flakey sea salt for the flavor of larger crystals when I roast, but plain table salt will work just fine. Other seasoning can work too. I like to add cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon to sweet potatoes. Garlic and herbs are often appropriate for potatoes and mushrooms. Woody herbs like thyme are rosemary are fine to roast in the oven but more delicate herbs like basil should be tossed with the hot vegetables after roasting. Lemon zest is also a great ingredient to toss in after roasting - especially with asparagus.
Once consideration for seasoning have been made toss the vegetable with seasoning, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Take care to coat the the vegetables with olive oil, but don't put too much on. You want the pan to be dry enough get a good brown on the vegetables. Put the foil lined pan of vegetables on the bottom rack of the oven so it is closest to the heating element and cook for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through for even browning. (Asparagus might take closer to 20 minutes - keep an eye on them!)
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