These easy roasted vegetables are tossed in a sweet combination of balsamic vinegar and a bit of honey for an easy and healthy side dish.
Our new(ish) membership in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) means that each week we get a box of produce delivered to our door every week. As much as I love to cook and thought I would dive into that box each week with abandon, I find myself struggling with a common challenge that many other CSA-supporters mention: how to be creative with unexpected ingredients.
Unexpected Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients that are native to Southeast Asia (but rare or unheard of in my native North America) are particularly challenging.
Like these moonflowers - any ideas on how to cook these pretty little guys?
The great thing about a CSA is getting to try new things.
For almost all vegetables (except for greens), the easiest answer is roasting.
I fire up the oven to 450 degrees F, chop everything into evenly-sized pieces and put them in the oven. Just about everything comes out tender, caramelized, and delicious by itself or, as in the recipe below, tossed in a sweet combination of balsamic vinegar and a bit of honey.
It is not terribly common for apartments in Bangkok to have ovens. When we moved here, I figured I would take whatever we got - oven or not.
Now, two years in, I'm not sure what I would do without one. Sure, wok cooking makes a lot of sense in this hot climate, but it was not the answer I was looking for when it came to experimenting with these sunchokes (also called Jerusalem artichokes) that came in the CSA box last weekend. Roasted vegetables for the win!
The arrived crusted in dirt and looking a bit gnarly (they remind me of ginger root), but armed with a pre-heated oven and a bunch of other vegetables, I knew just what to do with them. Hello, flavor. Sunchokes are slightly sweet, more firm than a potato, but somehow reminiscent of those other similarly dirt-dwelling starches. If you have never tried sunchokes, I highly recommend them, but this recipe would work well with just about any vegetable.
More Vegetable Side Dishes
- Creamy Butternut Squash and Spinach Casserole
- Herb Roasted Vegetables
- Whole Wheat Couscous with Roasted Vegetables
- Honey Ginger Glazed Carrots
- Spicy Szechuan Green Beans
- Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
- Easy Roasted Broccoli
- Parmesan-Thyme Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Oven-Roasted Ranch Potato Wedges
- Vegetable Fried Rice
- How to Steam a Whole Head of Cauliflower in the Instant Pot
Favorite Tools
Balsamic Roasted Vegetables
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Half Sheet Pans
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 teaspoon Honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 2 ½ lbs Assorted Vegetables, cut into ½ inch cubes or rounds (I used butternut squash, carrots, and sunchokes but sweet potatoes, zucchini, squash, eggplant or mushrooms would be great)
- 1 Red Onion, chopped
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, and mustard in a small jar with a lid and shake to combine. (Dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Just shake well before using.)
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Toss vegetables and onion in a large bowl; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add dressing; toss to coat. Divide between 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Roast until vegetables are tender and slightly brown around edges,stirring every 15 minutes to brown all sides, about 40 minutes.
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Claire @ Claire K Creations
I've even discovered that greens can be roasted too! Just make sure they're really dry before you put them in the oven, brush them in your flavours and bake. They come out so crispy and delicious!
I don't know what I'd do with those moon flowers but they sure are pretty.
Jess
I'll have to try that, Claire - love that idea! We get a mess of greens with our CSA box too, and I'm always looking for something to do with them!
Katie (The Muffin Myth)
Those moon flowers are gorgeous! Great shot! I love Jerusalem artichokes. Such a wonderful nutty flavour when they are roasted. They're surprisingly easy to find in Sweden, which is a treat for us. I have also roasted greens before, so I'd definitely give that a try. Or a stirfry? What do moon flowers taste like?
Jess
The Jerusalem artichokes were such a surprise to me too, but I loved them. That's the first time I've ever had them, even though they were becoming pretty popular in the US when I left. Roasted greens are on the list - you ladies have definitely convinced me!
Alyssa
I had a similar CSA dilemma recently with red radishes, which I don't ordinarily like, but roasted with carrots and onions? Delicious!! I still haven't decided what to make with the lemongrass I got last week -- I'm afraid whatever I do with it will make me miss Thailand (and you guys) too much, but I'm open to suggestions... 🙂
Jess
Ooo red radishes!? I was never terribly big on radishes, until we moved here and can't get them. Now I miss them - crazy how that works! As you've seen firsthand, we consume lemongrass around here like it's goin' out of style. It's a great excuse to make some Laab Gai... you know that's what Frank would do with it - he can't get enough of the stuff.
Frank
When I lived in the States and did not know what to eat for dinner, I would make a turkey sandwich. This meant that I ate turkey sandwiches approximately three to four times per week. Now that turkey and cheese have proven to be elusive in Bangkok, laab is my official 'what the heck am I going to cook tonight' dish. Thankfully, I have a patient wife... who likes laab more than turkey sandwiches.
Jess
You have a wife who thinks your laab might be even be better than what we get at Sticky Rice Son (and you know that's saying something).
Although these days, I could go for a classic Frank-perfected Turkey Sandwich with a smear of butter.
Julia {The Roasted Root}
We make roasted veggies frequently, especially when it's cold outside. We loooove using balsamic and have never used dijon mustard - this is brilliant. Definitely going to follow your method next time we roast. Love the post!
Jess
Julia - we tend to keep it really simple when we roast veggies, usually just a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper, but somehow adding balsamic and dijon makes it seem like an entirely new dish. Let me know what you think!