Perfectly Roasted Root Veggies

Written by: Rosemary Seguin CNP, NNCP

During the cold winter months there is nothing better than a nutritious, hearty, warming dish. One of my personal favourites is a recipe I adapted from Jamie Oliver. A medley of heirloom carrots, fennel, parsnips and beets marinated and roasted to perfection.  It’s also one of my favourite dishes to bring to a pot luck during the winter months especially during the holidays!

These once “boring” veggies will soon become bursting with flavour. If you don’t particularly like one of the veggies, I encourage you to try it again because the combination of flavours in this recipe is simply delicious!

Perfectly Roasted Root Veggies (serves 6-8 people)

Ingredients:

10 heirloom carrots or regular carrots, peeled, cut in half                                                                                             

·         2 Clementine’s, cut in half, juiced over carrots

·         2 sprigs of fresh Rosemary, leaves picked

·         2 Tbsp, extra virgin olive oil

·         Sea salt, to taste

·         Fresh ground pepper, to taste

2 bulbs of fennel (anise), washed and cut into wedges

·         1 lemon, cut in half, juiced over fennel

·         3 springs of fresh thyme, leaves picked

·         2 Tbsp, extra virgin olive oil

·         Sea salt, to taste

·         Fresh ground pepper, to taste

8 Parsnips, peeled, cut in half

·         1 Tbsp, apple cider vinegar or white vinegar

·         1 sprig of fresh sage, leaves picked

·         1 Tbsp, extra virgin olive oil

·         Sea salt, to taste

Fresh ground pepper, to taste

6 large beets, cleaned and cut into large chunks

·         1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

·         3 sprigs of fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried oregano

·         1 Tbsp, extra virgin olive oil

·         Sea salt, to taste

·         Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Method:

Take the carrots, fennel and parsnips, and put in a large pot of cold water. Place the beets in a separate pot of cold water and if using heirloom carrots, put the purple carrots in the same pot as the beets so the other veggies won’t turn purple.  

Bring the water to a boil and cook veggies until they are partially cooked or soft enough for a fork to pierce them without too much force.

Once partially cooked, drain the two pots separately in a colander and let them steam dry.

Next, separate the veggies into individual bowls and season each group of vegetables according to the ingredients listed under each. Toss to coat them evenly.

Transfer each group of veggies into one large roasting tray (or two small trays if it doesn’t fit), keeping each group of veggies separate in the tray.      

Cover with tin foil and bake at 375F for 50min.

To serve, you can either pile them all on top of each other in a large serving tray so all the beautiful colours can mix together or alternatively keep each group of veggies separated but serve them in one platter. Either way, it will look beautiful and every bite will be bursting with flavor!    

Buon Appetito