The magazine that publishes my monthly food column, “Acreage Life“, asked me to submit a recipe for root vegetables. That was an easily answered question, knowing right away that I wanted to roast something delicious: Easy Oven Roasted Root Vegetables!
Since root vegetables are readily available year-round in our food markets, this is an easy recipe for gathering up the ingredients. For gardeners, these are veggies that are best planted and harvested for a colder weather season. So make sure that you’ve got these plants when all of the hot summer veggies are no longer producing and keep that garden of yours working hard for you year-round!
So what the heck are ‘root’ vegetables anyway?
Root vegetables are vegetables that have the parts that we eat growing UNDERGROUND with their stems or leaves growing above ground (and yes, those are edible too)! Root vegetables are culinary staples in our kitchens and we cannot imagine life without these delicious food blessings from the earth!
Rooties are chock full of nutritious goodness and very hearty. These hidden gems store incredibly well and are the most common vegetables that traditionally keep us fed through the cold winter months, but we use them year-round today. These are the veggies that were (and still are) kept in storage “cellars” before we had refrigerators. The ways to prepare them are endless, limited only to one’s creativity.
The list is too long to include here, so for further reading of the entire list, clickhere
So to get started, set out your ingredients, all cut up.
What Ingredients Do I Need for Easy Oven Roasted Root Vegetables?
Red Potatoes
Beets
Red Onions
Sweet Potatoes or Yams
Carrots
Rutabagas
Garlic
Rosemary
Herbs: Sage, Oregano, and Thyme
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Honey
Salt and Pepper
Wow, just take a minute to look at the intense, vivid colors of the beets, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, red onions, and carrots! This has to be the absolute most colorful and beautiful dish ever! From what they say, the more vivid and diverse the colors, the healthier the recipe is….well, say hello to not only a healthy veggie recipe but one that is oh-so-good too!
So, my friends (amici), let’s get to the cucina and do some roasting!
#1: Drizzle olive oil all over a large baking tray.#2: Place all vegetables and the garlic in a large mixing bowl, except the beets.#3 Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the vegetables and toss to coat.#4 In a separate smaller mixing bowl, do the same with the beets. Don’t mix the beets with the other bowl of vegetables to prevent them from discoloring the other vegetables.#5 Place the large bowl of oil-coated vegetables on the olive oil-coated baking tray.#6 Then carefully place the oil-coated beets all around the top; do not stir.
# 7 Sprinkle all of the herbs (sage, oregano, thyme, and any of your personal favorites!), salt and pepper.Place the tray of vegetables on a middle or lower rack in the heated oven. Roast for 30 minutes without stirring.
#8 Remove the veggies from the oven and place all of the sprigs of fresh rosemary on top;#9 Return the tray of veggies to the oven and roast for 20 more minutes.
#10 While the vegetables finish roasting, mix the balsamic vinegar with honey in a smallbowl and set aside. Use fresh honeycomb honey (2nd photo) or your favorite jarred honey. (In this photo I used Italian Chestnut Honey that I bought during one of my visits to Italy).
#11 Remove the veggies from the oven when they are at the level of tenderness you prefer#12 Pour into a large serving bowl and serve warm or hot with balsamic-honey vinaigrette
5 – 6 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1–1/2” pieces
10 small red potatoes, peel left on, cut into bite-size pieces (about 1″ square)
10 fingerling potatoes, peel left on, cut into bite-size pieces (about 1″ square)
4 large beets, peeled, cut into 1–1/2” squares
3 medium size sweet potatoes or yams, peeled, cut into 1–1/2” squares
1 turnip or rhutabaga, cut inito 1-1/2″ squares
1 large red onion, skin removed, cut into 1–1/2” squares
1/2 of a butternut squash, peeled, cut into 1–1/2” squares
6 whole garlic cloves (larger sized), minced
3 Tbsp (ish) of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. of each: sage, oregano, and thyme
1 Tbsp. freshly-cracked sea salt
1 tsp. freshly-cracked black pepper
5 – 6 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Balsamic – Honey Vinaigrette:
1cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. honey (or more to your taste preference)
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 425 F degrees and prepare the vegetables.
Drizzle olive oil all over a large baking tray.
Place all vegetables in a large mixing bowl, except the beets. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the vegetables and toss to coat. Mix in half of the minced garlic.
In a separate smaller mixing bowl, do the same with the beets (with olive oil and garlic). Do not mix the beets in with the other bowl of vegetables to prevent them from discoloring the other vegetables.
Place the large bowl of oil-coated vegetables on the olive oil-coated baking tray. Then carefully place the oil-coated beets all around the top, and do not stir.
Sprinkle all of the herbs (sage, oregano, and thyme), salt and pepper.
Place the baking tray on a middle or lower rack in the heated oven. Roast for 30 minutes.
Remove the veggies from the oven and place all of the sprigs of fresh rosemary on top; return to the oven and roast for 20 more minutes.
While the vegetables finish roasting, mix the balsamic vinegar with the honey in a small bowl and set aside.
Remove the veggies from the oven when they are at the level of tenderness you prefer; pour into a large serving bowl.
Serve warm or hot with balsamic – honey vinaigrette on the side to pass among guests . . . or to dip veggies in! YUM!
Buon Appetito!
xoxo ~ Roz
Nutrition
Serving Size:1 cup
Do you enjoy La Bella Vita Cucina?
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Roz, roasting vegetables anytime of years rocks. Yours as always look amazing. I think roasting really brings out the natural sugars in vegetables and elevates what may be a bland vegetable on the surface. Thanks for the reminder you can roast vegetables all year.
Roz, roasting vegetables anytime of years rocks. Yours as always look amazing. I think roasting really brings out the natural sugars in vegetables and elevates what may be a bland vegetable on the surface. Thanks for the reminder you can roast vegetables all year.
This is great! Our choice is lemony basil dip to serve with! Thank you!
Love roasted vegetables and next time I have to add your balsamic honey vinaigrette to them.
Thanks Karen! I do too, and this vinaigrette is delightful to just dip in or use sparingly on the veggies.
Ciao,
Roz
Roasting definitely brings out the best flavour of root veggies.
xo,
Angie
angiesrecipes
http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com
Hi Angie,
Isn’t that so true! Plus, the color is so much more vivid and incredible ‘eye candy’!
Hope you’re having a nice summer!
Ciao,
Roz