These are the tastiest roasted vegetables I’ve ever made. The caper vinaigrette adds incredible fresh flavor to the long roasted veggies. I love cooking with root vegetables such as parsnips and sweet potatoes in the fall and winter, but feel free to use any of your favorite vegetables, including carrots, cauliflower, beets, etc. It’s easy to prepare…you just have to cut up the vegetables and roast them in olive oil with some herbs. Then mix up the dressing and drizzle it over the cooked vegetables.
Prep Time: 25 – 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 80 – 90 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 1½ lbs parsnips
- 4 medium red onions
- 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 thyme sprigs
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 1 head garlic, halved horizontally
- sea salt and black pepper
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (1¼ lbs total)
- 30 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Peel the parsnips and cut into two or three segments, depending on their lengths. Then cut each piece lengthways into two or four. You want pieces roughly 2 inches long and ½-inch wide.
- Peel the onions and cut each into six or eight wedges (depending on the size of the onion).
- Place the parsnips and onions in a large mixing bowl and add ½ cup of the olive oil, the thyme, rosemary, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and some pepper. Mix well and spread out in a large roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes.
- While the parsnips are cooking, trim both ends of the sweet potatoes. Cut them (with their skins) widthways in half, then each half into six or eight wedges (depending on the size of the sweet potato). Add the potatoes to the pan with the parsnips and onion and stir well. Return to the oven to roast for a further 40 to 50 minutes.
- When all the vegetables are cooked through and have taken on a golden color, stir in the halved tomatoes. Roast for 10 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the lemon juice, capers, maple syrup, mustard, remaining 2 tablespoons oil and ½ teaspoon salt in a small bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the roasted vegetables as soon as you take them out of the oven. Stir well, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Scatter the sesame seeds over the vegetables if using and serve at the table in the roasting pan.
Note: You want to roast the garlic in its skin. First remove all of the loose, papery outer layers from the head of the garlic. Leave the head itself intact with all the cloves connected. Then cut the garlic head in half horizontally. When the vegetables are done roasting, I gently squeeze the cloves out of their paper.
Adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi.