vegetables

large plate of roast vegetables for you, Soji. (And we’re keeping the potatoes out).

Roast veggies make an appearance at my own dinner table quite frequently in winter, because thankfully the family enjoys them too. Pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, zucchini, capsicum, eggplant, fennel, onion, garlic all go into the oven and come out looking beautifully bright and simply delicious. And they can be comforting too, not to mention filling.

Of course one can be simply frugal and just roast the veggies with some olive oil, salt and pepper. But why not put a little bit more thought into preparing the veggies for roasting, and then dressing them after. A dash of balsamic vinegar to that simple oil-salt-and-pepper can liven it all up beautifully.

Try olive oil rosemary, thyme and salt; or oil, lemon and rosemary.

For a slightly fancier version, try balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey and some chopped fresh basil. (Beware, though, as this mix makes the veggies soft rather than crunchy, delicious nonetheless).

Mixes like lemon-pepper seasoning, or even our own chaat masala, might work well too. If harissa and curry powder can be used, perhaps we could try the many readymade masalas that are available in the spice stores.

At a recent trip to Aussie food legend Maggie Beer’s place in the Barossa Valley, I was introduced to her verjuice at a cooking demonstration. The roast veggies that were cooked and served that afternoon were dressed with a good splash of verjuice. Somewhere between lemon juice and vinegar in taste, it brought out the flavour of the veggies beautifully. Made from unfermented grapes and perfected over a period of twenty years, Maggie’s verjuice is available commercially, and is definitely worth a try.

Whatever you use to prepare your veggies, rub the ingredients in well, rather than merely sprinkling them on.

Use a thin oven tray rather than a thick dish, and lay out your veggies single file. Make sure you’ve chopped them up in even sized cubes.

Veggies like sweet potato might work well if parboiled first, and for beetroot it might be best to roast separately, in its own skin, which can be peeled off later.

Onions will give off a strong odour while cooking, but it is worth it in the end, as they come up deliciously sweet. So will garlic.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees; roasting time will vary with the amount of veggies. Roast till tender and golden.

Of course these are served as an accompaniment in a main meal, but I’m sure Soji wouldn’t mind making a full meal of these by themselves.

And for my Hindu readers - a great idea for vrat days!