How to Roast Vegetables

Even veggies haters may find roasting creates a pleasant, slightly-sweet flavor that masks the typical bitterness of many vegetables. This simple cooking method helps preserves the natural nutrients of the veggies. It also gives them an attractive brown color that's not unlike the beautiful appearance of traditional grilled vegetables.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Vegetables
• Roasting pan
• Oil
• Seasoning
• Knife
• Cutting board

1. Choose your vegetables. Almost any hard, solid vegetable can be roasted. Good choices include peppers (any color), squash and zucchini, root vegetables (such as onions), Brussels sprouts and asparagus.

2. Prepare your vegetables. Wash the vegetables with fresh running water. Lightly scrub off the dirt with a vegetable brush.

3. Cut vegetables into pieces. Uniform pieces work best for roasting. Using a cutting board and knife, try to slice your vegetables into chunks that are approximately the same size.

4. Preheat oven. Your oven should be preheated to about 400 degrees.

5. Dress vegetables. Put your vegetables in a bowl and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle them with kosher or sea salt. Add a little pepper to taste. Toss to coat the vegetable chunks.

6. Prepare roasting pan. Grease the bottom of a shallow roasting pan or line it with parchment paper.

7. Arrange the vegetables. Arrange the vegetables in a single layer in the roasting pan.

8. Begin roasting the vegetables. Once the oven is preheated, slide the vegetables onto the middle rack. Roast for approximately 10 minutes.

9. Stir the vegetables. After 10 minutes have passed, stir the vegetables. Spread them in a single layer again.

10. Roast another 10 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also season your vegetables with other herbs and spices, such as Italian seasoning or rosemary.
• Your vegetables should be lightly browned on the edges. You may need to add extra roasting time if your vegetables are cut into very large chunks.
• Be careful to avoid bruising the tender flesh of the vegetables when you're scrubbing them clean.
• Avoiding packing the vegetables too closely in the roasting pan, as this will cause them to steam rather than roast.