Meatless Monday Madness – Roasted Vegetables
At my house, Mondays are generally for leftovers or salads. If you’ve been treating yourself to delicious indulgences during the weekend, chances are that you’re looking to lighten things up at the start of the week. More Vegetables, right? Well, roasting vegetables is pretty much my favorite way to eat them. I roast every kind of veggie you can imagine, and it’s so easy! Carrots will literally be sweet as candy. Oh, candy, now we’re taking, right? Vegetable candy! Roasted Root Vegetables with Tarragon Chive Sauce, is a great way to get your daily veggies in!
Roasting vegetables on a high temperature brings out the sweetness but it also adds a little crispness too. All you need is a baking sheet, some olive oil and salt and pepper. Any other varieties or additions is purely up to your own imagination.
I have to admit that I was flipping through Instagram a few weeks ago and saw the most gorgeous photography of roasted carrots and radishes. I’m sorry I didn’t flag it because I can’t remember who’s stunning dish it was. I haven’t been able to find the amazing food artist again, so if it was you, bravo! I did come up with my own version, although It doesn’t look anything like what I remember seeing, but that’s the beauty of inspiration. You can make it your own version of Roasted Root Vegetables.
Cooking with Presentation In Mind
Cooking with the desire to make the dish as beautiful as possible can be challenging. Obviously, taste is the most important factor, but with a little extra effort, you can make your dish look stunning as well as delicious and this easy, winner can be the star of any table. When roasting root vegetables, leaving some of the green stem adds a lot to the final look of the dish.
Here’s How I Did It
Select your vegetables. I loved the color combination of orange and red carrots, red radishes with the white and green Spanish Onions. Spanish onions are bigger than scallions but still take on a mellow, sweet flavor when roasted. Wash all the vegetables and decide whether or not they need to be peeled. (Sometimes, carrots do not need peeling, a good scrub will do, but sometimes they just don’t look very good without a bit of help.)
Chop Veggies to make them as consistent a size as possible for even cooking. Put all the veggies on a heavy-duty baking sheet. Toss with olive oil and sprinkle generously with kosher or sea salt and black pepper. Roast at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes. The length of cooking time will depend on the thickness of the vegetables.
In a small bowl, add 3/4 cup sour cream. Add 2 tablespoon finely chopped chives, 1 teaspoon finely chopped tarragon leaves, 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper. Zest of 1/2 lemon and 2 teaspoons lemon juice.
Tarragon has a bit of a strong flavor, so a little goes a long way. The flavor is similar to anise, which will give you a bit of a licorice taste. Tarragon is a very popular ingredient in French cooking. If you’re not familiar with tarragon, this is a nice way to try it. I always love it in a creamy sauce.
Serve Them Up
I like to Display vegetables on a large serving platter with a dish of sauce. Then garnish all with fresh chopped parsley and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. I also topped with a light sprinkle of black salt for added flavor and crunch. You can use any finishing salt. Enjoy!
Roasted Root Vegetables With Tarragon Chive Sauce
Ingredients
For the Vegetables
- 6-8 small carrots
- 6-8 small red carrots
- 1 bunch fresh radishes (about 12)
- 6-8 Spanish onions
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
For the Sauce
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped tarragon leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon celery seeds
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Garnish - fresh lemons quartered and chopped parsely
- Optional 1 teaspoon coarse black salt or other finishing salt
Instructions
- Wash all the vegetables and peel if desired. Leave about 1/4 inch of green stems on the top of the carrots and radishes. Cut the root end off the Spanish Onions and trim the stem right above the light green portion. Slice carrots in half vertically, then, if the carrots are very long, cut length, making them as consistent a size as possible for even cooking. Put all the veggies on a heavy-duty baking sheet. Toss with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher or sea salt and black pepper. Roast at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, until they are lightly browned.
For the Sauce
- In a small bowl, add 3/4 cup sour cream. Add 2 tablespoon finely chopped chives, 1 teaspoon finely chopped tarragon leaves, 1 teaspoon celery seeds, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper. Zest of 1/2 lemon and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Mix well.
Garnish
- Quarter 1 or 2 lemons. Squeeze 1 or 2 quarters over the vegetables and set the others around the dish. Top with 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley and 1 teaspoon coarse black salt or other coarse finishing salt. Serve with the sauce.
