Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Roasted Veggies Rock

I am continually surprised by the delicious-factor of roasted vegetables. I came home from yoga tonight to sample the roasted vegetable ratatouille and fell in love. In fact it was more than love—occasionally I discover a dish that makes my body go, "YES!!" Even more occasionally, that dish is actually good for me, and not a dish full of salt and fat. There was no guilt at all in tonight's dinner.

There are several recipes on line for roasted vegetable ratatouille. Mine came from the Moosewood Collective's Simple Suppers (one of my go-to cookbooks for simple and healthy meals). I had to modify it a bit, because it calls for fresh basil and there was none to be found at the grocery store when I was there on Saturday. My schedule didn't allow for a return trip, so I decided to rely on what I had in stock at home, which was some homemade pesto from last year's basil crop, in my freezer.

So in a nutshell, here's all you need to do for a fabulous meal:

Chop a collection of vegetables into 1-inch pieces to total 12 to 14 cups. The original recipe called for peeled eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and multi-coloured peppers. I added mushrooms as well. Place in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. I used a little over 1/3 cup of olive oil, and a generous sprinkling of S&P. Roast in a 450F oven for 40 minutes or so, stirring halfway through.

When everything is nicely softened with little caramelized bits around the edges, place in a serving bowl and toss with 1/4 to 1/2 cup pesto and serve.

The recipe suggested serving it over polenta or pasta. I would have liked to try the polenta, but I didn't have any on hand. Instead, while searching for polenta in my pantry I found quinoa, which I cooked in some purchased vegetable broth that I had in my fridge. The combination was absolutely delicious. As I mentioned, my body said "YES!" Then it said, "You should add some crumbled feta to this." So I did. My yoga teacher is always telling me to listen to my body, and in this case, my body proved to be very wise.

I confess to not being a huge fan of eggplant, but I have to admit that it made the dish, as it went all creamy and soft in among the firmer zucchini and onions. Oh yummy. I foresee more eggplant in my future.

I wish I could say this was a kid favourite, but not today. I'll blame it on his cold.

P.S. lennisdottir just posted a comment noting that roasted broccoli is also fabulous. That should also go on the roastables list!

1 comment:

  1. Yum! Okay, this is on my list of must make recipes.

    I often pull out my Moosewood cookbooks...have you seen the cookbook "Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health"?

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