Roasted Vegetable Medley

For those of you living on your own or anyone who just wants to cook something simple and healthy for yourself, try my roasted vegetable medley.  Make a big tray of it to last a few days, and enjoy a slight variation of it each night by adding a different topping.  Dense root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, turnips, kohlrabis, potatoes and beetroots roast well, and you can mix them with one or two softer vegetables like zucchinis, capsicums, sweet corns, and broccolis. Make it colourful and exciting.  It is important not to overcrowd your baking tray, or the vegetables would end up steaming instead of roasting up nice and crisp.  Toss in a few cloves of crushed garlic, drizzle over some olive oil and they are ready for the oven.  I like to add sprigs of rosemary from my big bush in the garden for extra flavour.  A sprinkling of dry herbs is also good.  As for the toppings, I recommend a few spoonfuls of my parsley pesto  or any green pesto, preserved lemon parsley yoghurt dip or dukkah.

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

• 1 carrot, about 120g / 4¼oz
• 2 small potatoes, about 160g / 5½oz
• ½ turnip, about 150g / 5¼oz
• 1 beetroot, about 150g / 5¼oz
• 1 medium sweet potato, about 370g / 13oz
• ½ head of broccoli, about 150g / 5¼oz
• 1 small red onion, about 100g / 3½oz
• 3 whole cloves garlic, crushed with skins on
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 3-4 fresh rosemary sprigs or 1 teaspoon of dried herbs such as basil, oregano, thyme 

METHOD

1. Peel or scrubbed vegetables as preferred.  Cut vegetables into trunks or wedges, roughly the same size.  Place them in a large baking tray with crushed garlic cloves.  
2. Drizzle over olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Toss the vegetables with your hands or a pair of tongs to combine with the oil and seasoning, then arrange them into a single layer on the tray.  Scatter rosemary sprigs or dried herbs on top.
3. Bake in a preheated 200°C/400°F oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.  Give everything a toss before serving.  Spoon over suggested toppings, if like.