Roasted Root Veggies for a Crowd

Do you roast veggies? What an EASY delicious way to cook and eat nutritious veggies! This dish was inspired by a couple of roasted beet recipes I found on the web.

Bri introduced us to the idea of roasting vegetables, one of her favorite methods to get all the savory goodness out of foods that are, so often, taken for granted.

INGREDIENTS ~ organic, grown locally, if possible
2-3 lbs. (.9-1.33Kg) Purple or Golden Beets (or both)
5 lbs. (2.25Kg) mixed color Potatoes: Purple (Blue), Yukon Gold, Pink, White, etc.
2-3 large Purple or Yellow Onions (whole baby onions are really nice, but take quite awhile to peel)
2 lbs. (.9Kg) Orange or Red Carrots
3 large heads Garlic
Organic Virgin Olive Oil
Aleaea Pink Hawaiian Sea Salt, coarse grind

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425F (218C)  degrees.

1. SCRUB all the root veggies thoroughly.

2. TRIM tops & tails off the beets.
NOTE: Save the greens to steam lightly for another meal.

3. CUT the root veggies into similar sizes, so they’ll cook in the same amount of time.
TIP: Leave small-to-medium beets whole. Cut large beets in half or quarters…matching their sizes approximately with the size of your cut potatoes. (Don’t peel the beets, potatoes, or carrots. But DO cut the woody beet neck ‘collars’ away.)

4. PREP the rest of the veggies. Separate the garlic cloves, leaving them in their skins. (You’ll be able to squeeze the soft roasted garlicky contents out, while eating.) Slice the onions into large sections. Cut the carrots into large chunks, so they don’t cook faster than the beets & potatoes.

5. STIR the cut vegetables with a large spoon in a large mixing bowl with 1/4 cup olive oil and a generous amount of a quality coarse ground sea salt (about 1-2 teaspoons).

6. SPREAD the oiled, salted, vegetables in a single layer on a large non-stick cookie sheet. Cover with a piece of aluminum foil, sealing the edges. This locks in the juices so the veggies will steam during the first part of the baking process.

7. ‘STEAM’ ROAST for 20-25 minutes.

8. TAKE off the aluminum foil. And return the veggies to the oven.

9. ROAST for another 20-25 minutes. The flavor and sugars in the root veggies will become concentrated, caramelized juices will run onto the trays; aromas of burnt sugar or marshmallows may waft from the oven. The veggies are done when you can pierce them easily with a fork.

10. SERVE as a side dish to accompany another entree or as a main dish with a sprinkling of coarse ground fresh black pepper, a drizzle of Balsamic or other flavored vinegar, crumbled ‘Chevre’ (soft goat cheese), feta, coarsely grated Parmesan cheese, or large curd cottage cheese, along with a crunchy green salad.

CREATIVE ROASTING COMBOS

For the fun of it, the Beet-Potato-Carrot-Garlic combo could be varied by mixing veggies of similar hues:
~ all PURPLE…Purple ‘Blue’ Potatoes, Burgundy Beets, Purple Onions, Purple Carrots if you can find them.
~ a GOLDEN combo with Yukon Gold potatoes, heirloom Golden Beets – a recent FAV of mine – Orange Carrots, and Yellow Onions.
~ all WHITE or IVORY…potatoes, onions, garlic, etc….if you really want to be austere.

Quicker cooking combos that only take 20 minutes to roast (or they’ll burn) are:
~ Broccoli-Zucchini-Garlic
~ OR for a slightly sweet take, Delicata or Sweet Dumpling Squash & Crisp Baking Apples sprinkled with Raisins, Currents, or Dried Cranberries, Cinnamon and/or Nutmeg (Walnuts, Pistachios, or Almonds would be nice, too).