Roasting vegetables

May 13, 2:47 PMDC Cooking ExaminerOlga Berman

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You might think that roasting vegetables is an odd idea during the months of spring and summer. After all, we tend to think about roasting winter squash, russet potatoes or other root vegetables during the fall and winter months. Don't be afraid to turn your oven to 450 (as long as you have air conditioning turned on at the same time) to make great sides to go with your warm-weather meals.

Roasting is a process of cooking your food at high temperature in the oven. For now, I'll concentrate on roasting vegetables. You can roast asparagus, red-skinned potatoes, green beans, carrots, beets, and the list goes on and on. Roasting improves the flavor of your food by bringing out its natural sweetness and making its skin crispy.

To roast your vegetables, preheat the oven to 450F with a cookie sheet inside. Preheating the cookie sheet allows you to get a crisper seal on your vegetables. Meanwhile, wash and dry your vegetables. Toss them in some oil, salt and pepper, and then roast them for about 20-60 minutes depending on the vegetables.

If you are roasting potatoes, it helps to either microwave them for 5 minutes or cook them in lightly boiling water before putting them in oven. This will ensure your potatoes are tender on the inside and have a crispy skin on the outside. If you are cooking asparagus or green beans, you can first blench them for a few minutes (that means dunking the vegetables in salted boiling water, turning the heat off and then 2 minutes later removing them and placing them into an ice bath for a few minutes to stop the cooking process).

Other vegetables that can be roasted are peppers, mushrooms, cauliflower and even canned chickpeas. You can make your meal more exciting by adding spices such as red pepper flakes, cayenne, chili powder, curry powder, or anything else you have in your cupboard.

These roasted vegetables are great served straight from the oven, at room temperature, or even cold. Mix them into salads or serve them on the side with fish or chicken.