Survival roast-me-tender vegetables

/ Pigalle/

Oven roasted any-season vegetables 

summer version

summer version

Anywhere and anytime, but especially when you are late

Imagine: it is 7.30 pm and you have just realised that you friends are coming for dinner in 45 minutes, and you haven't started cooking yet ! Or, your friends are coming for brunch but you really have to write that Very Important Email before they arrive and you will not have time to cook at the same time. Or, you really want to be the most sparkling and elegant version of yourself for your date. Or you simply don't wanna cook but still eat something delicious.

I could not be able to count the number of times oven-roasted vegetables saved my life in this kind of situations...

Whether it is snowing outside and you need something hot and reassuring to warm your body up or whether you are trying to recreate the essence and flavour of summer on a plate, roasted veggies are the solution. All you have to do is put them in the oven and do something else. There is practically no way to get them wrong, the less you touch them or care about them while cooking, the better they will taste. You can also prepare quite a big quantity and then use them for different dishes.

Here you'll find three different versions, based on what I had in the fridge or what I found at the farmer's market. BE CREATIVE ! Find your favourite mix and dare... You cannot go wrong with roasted veggies !

Roasted veggies

Serves 6-7 people

Summer Version

  • 2 small aubergines
  • 1 or 2 bell peppers
  • 2 zucchini ( you can also use yellow or round zucchini )
  • 3 heirloom tomatoes
  • 3 onions
  • few fresh carrots ( i prefer a mix of yellow, purple and orange carrots)
  • fresh basil
  • celery leaves
  • 3-4 garlic cloves
  • zaatar or herbes de provence mix
autumn version

autumn version

Autumn Version

  • 3 carrots
  • 3 beetrots (any color)
  • 2 sweet potatoes
  • 2 rutabaga
  • 1 fennel
  • 3 onions
  • 3-4 garlic cloves
  • piment d'espelette
  • sage
  • pinch of cardamom if you like it
  • sesame seeds

Winter Version

  • 1 butternut squash or any kind of squash ( I like to mix half butternut half red kuri squash) 
  • 2 leeks
  • 2 sweet potatoes
  • 2 cups of pre-cooked chestnuts ( you can boil them in hot water with 2-3 bay leaves & peel them )
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • ginger root, finely chopped
  • muscat 
  • fresh parsley or coriander

All you have to do: 

Cut the veggies in slices, add salt, pepper, the spices and extra-virgin olive oil. Put them in the oven and do whatever you want to do: take a shower, get ready, read a book, drink wine, talk with friends, prepare a dessert. Bake for at least 45 min ( more or less, wait until the veggies are tender but with a nice thin crust) at 180°-200°. Chop the fresh herbs and add them right before serving.

This dish is literally a survival solution for every kind of dinner, lunch, brunch or last-minute event! And it has endless variations: just open the fridge or go to your local market and buy seasonal vegetables, add your favourite spices and let the oven do the job for you. ;)

You can have it as a side, as a main dish, as a base for any kind of salad ( boulgour, lentils, quinoa, millet, couscous...). It is also delicious as a side of any kind of fresh and soft cheese such as burrata, ricotta, fresh goat cheese. The winter version can also be blended to obtain a delicious, velvety velouté ( you can add coconut milk for an exotic twist or a simple broth - both versions are just delicious).