Oven Roasted Vegetables

Simple oven-roasted vegetables with beautifully caramelized, golden brown bites of perfection is a staple side dish that pairs with almost any meal. This recipe made with sweet potato, carrots, Brussels sprouts, pecan, spices, rosemary and drizzled with creamy maple tahini dressing, is a perfect side dish on your holiday table.

This oven roasted vegetables have brussel sprouts, sweet pototo, carrots, pecan, herbs tossed in a basic spice blend and a dash of cinnamon for a festive touch. Becuase I was planing to serve it on my Christmas dinner, made a quick maple tahini dressing to drizzle on top. The veggies had the right amount of sweetness from caramelization, there was crunch from pecan, creamy touch of maple tahini sauce and with pomegranet kernels topping – a holiday worthy side dish for sure.

Oven roasted vegetables, as simple and basic it sounds if not cooked/baked right could be a big let down. What we are trying to achive here is perfectly tender(not soggy) veggies with cramaleized crispy edges and where the natural flavour of each vegetable signs through.

Ingredients

For Roasted Vegetable

Veggies– I have used fall veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes, and Brussels sprouts. There a whole range of other vegetables such as baby potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, pumpkin, parsnip, and beetroot to name a few. Softer veggies like red bell pepper, red onion, zucchini,
Pecan – or walnut to add a bit of crunch, as I was making it for the Christmas dinner. But you can also skip it altogether.
Herbs– Absolutely love how well rosemary goes with the veggies. Sage also goes well, but make sure you add it halfway through the baking to avoid it from burning.
Seasoning – Garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. I avoid fresh garlic for this recipe. Minced garlic would burn, and adding crushed garlic isn’t enough to flavour the vegetables.
Oil – Oil instead of butter makes these veggies extra crispy and also light.

To Make Maple Tahini Dressing

Tahini– Good quality tahini, whisk it well in the jar before using to get the right consistency.
Maple- For a mild flavor, maple syrup is good. You can also use honey or regular white sugar.
Dijon Mustard- balances the sauce.
Water – To thin down the sauce.
Salt and pepper-

Here Are A Few Tips For Roasting Vegetables In the Oven

Not all vegetables are roasted same. To get the best out of them, group the veggies depending on the moisture content or hardness of the veggies. Root veggeies such as potatos, carrot, beetroot, sweetpotato take longer and slower baking approach. This gives the best caramelization. Softer veegies like eggplant, zucchini, red peppers need to high heat baking for less time to crisp up.
Chopping the veggies- cut veggies into similar size, for them to bake evenly. Veggies srinks a bit when baked, so cut them into medium size.
Season light – no matter what seasoning you use, keep it mild so that the real sweetness of the veggies sign.
Avoid overcrowding the baking tray, or else you will end up with steamed rather than roasted veggies.