Roasted Vegetables

Simple oven-roasted vegetables

Note: This was first posted in Jan 2009, now updated with new photos and improved recipe.

These roasted vegetables are the side dish that always occupy my roast chicken. Nothing fancy at all, but definitely so easy to prepare, healthy and delicious! I basically used the same herbs and ingredients that was used for the roast chicken (usual suspects like thyme, rosemary and garlic). You can roast the vegetables on its own, but I usually cook it with the roast chicken during the last 40 minutes of roasting. The chicken juices and aroma further flavour the roasted vegetables. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

Roasting vegetables is almost a non-recipe and it is very flexible.  You can vary the amount of vegetables so long as they occupy one layer on the roasting tray. For the most basic seasoning, you only need salt and pepper. But feel free to use whatever herbs and ingredients you have in the pantry for added flavour (I usually use leftover herbs for my roasts and stews). For best results, cut them to equal size pieces for even cooking. Hard vegetables (such as carrots and potatoes) will take a slightly longer time than softer vegetables (such as zucchini and cauliflower). For this reason, I usually add the softer vegetables half way through the roasting time.

Ingredients
(Serves 2)

- 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut to uniform small chunks
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut to uniform small chunks
- 1 zucchini, cut to uniform small chunks
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- sea salt and black pepper
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 to 10 peeled garlic cloves, slightly bruised

Directions
1. Add cut potato and carrots to roasting tray. Coat with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.
2. Add herbs (rosemary, thyme, bay leaf) and garlic cloves. Toss to mix everything together.
3. Arrange the vegetables one layer on the roasting tray (not stacked). Roast vegetables in preheated oven of 200°C (400°F) for approximately 20 minutes.
4. Take the tray out from the oven and add in the zucchini. Use a spatula to give the vegetables a good stir.
5. Return tray to oven and continue roasting for another 20 minutes, until the vegetables are nicely roasted (slightly wrinkled and browned at the edges).

Ingredients Used bay leaf • black pepper • carrot • olive oil • potato • rosemary • salt • thyme • zucchini