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If a few years ago someone told me that eating roasted vegetables was such an incredible and passionate experience, I would have laughed and certainly made a disgusted face with a “Ugh!”
And this reaction would not be surprising, not only because I was not very fond of vegetables, but also because roasting vegetables is quite recent in the history of world gastronomy! Yes, on the entire world!
Who among us keep in memory those roasted vegetables that grandma made in the oven, or mother gave us to eat on Holidays? Yeah, I already know the answer … nobody. Came out of the oven we only remember to see meat, cakes, bread, some fish, but veggies… These were mostly boiled until they lost texture and flavor, or sautéed, or stewed. Putting the vegetables in the oven was not an option.
“Okay, but didn’t anyone roasted vegetables before?”
Until 1980 it seems that very few people did it. The concept of roasting vegetables in the oven seems to have started in a famous Italian restaurant, Al Forno by Johanne Killeen and George Germon, which opened its doors that same year and which had only one cooking appliance, the oven.
“We started to experiment with roasting vegetables in the oven through necessity,” said Killeen. “We didn’t invent roasted vegetables (…) but we knew we were on to something special. (…) Eating fava beans roasted in their skins was like eating candy,”
Killen and Germon may not have been the only ones who actually brought the roasted vegetables to the world, but they certainly played a super important role. In 1991 they launched the Cucina Simpactica cookbook which contained lots of tips on how to roast vegetables, and that same book was quoted by lots of newspapers that obviously highlighted this “new” method of cooking vegetables. In 1993 the book reached the New York Times, in which the food critic Florence Fabricant, had the perfect motto to interview chefs from all over the country and encourage them to use this technique, as well as encourage home cooks to do the same in their homes.
On that same year, the Food Network was created, a television channel dedicated to contemporary gastronomy, which gives the final boom and makes roasted vegetables a worldwide trend.
From the end of the 90s and the beginning of the 2000s, the craziness for roasted vegetables was installed, and it is not difficult to know why, whoever tries them hardly wants anything else!
But why did it take so long for roasted vegetables to be something so appreciated and made in everyone’s homes? Let’s say that the gastronomic literature did not help much for this step to be taken before. The great cook books until then recommended techniques such as steaming, sautéing, blanch it… So how could the people get out of the box if not even the big ones did it? It was almost as if it were established that the oven was not for roasting vegetables and nobody thought otherwise.
Thank God, somewhere in Italy, two enlightened people appeared to take us out of the darkness!
And tell me, there is anything better than a bunch of well-roasted and caramelized vegetables, in which everyone, without exception, becomes the best version of themselves? I can not resist!
EASY | TASTY | INTENSE | GOLDEN | JUICY
There is nothing easier than roasting vegetables in the oven! Choose the vegetables you most like, apply a generous dose of your favorite spices, drizzle with olive oil and put in the oven, that it must be quite hot waiting for our vegetables.
Then just let the heat of the oven embrace all the vegetables, enhance the flavors, creating new textures, bringing new colors, it´s a kind of magic that will happen inside the oven!
I bring to you a recipe of roasted vegetables with my favorite veggies to roast, such as red onion, white potato, pumpkin, red bell pepper, carrot and beet, and also a delicious tofu that not only brings even more flavor and texture do the dish as also make it a complete meal.
Also, I will finally share with you one of my favorite marinades to make your tofu even more delicious, and to make those friends of yours who say that don´t like tofu, crying for more!
Let´s jump to the recipe!
650gr of butternut squash
800gr of white potatoes
1 red bell pepper
1 carrot
150gr of beetroot
2 red onions
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp of smoked paprika
2 tsp of thyme
1 tsp of turmeric powder
3 bay leafs
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 coffee spoon of Tabasco
Black pepper
TOFU MARINATED
500gr of firm tofu
3 tsp of smoked paprika
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1 tbsp of thyme
2 tsp of rice vinegar
2 tbsp of soy sauce
Juice of one orange
3 finely chopped garlic cloves
5 tbsp of water
Black pepper
650gr of butternut squash
800gr of white potatoes
1 red bell pepper
1 carrot
150gr of beetroot
2 red onions
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp of smoked paprika
2 tsp of thyme
1 tsp of turmeric powder
3 bay leafs
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 coffee spoon of Tabasco
Black pepper
TOFU MARINATED
500gr of firm tofu
3 tsp of smoked paprika
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1 tbsp of thyme
2 tsp of rice vinegar
2 tbsp of soy sauce
Juice of one orange
3 finely chopped garlic cloves
5 tbsp of water
Black pepper
1- Start by making the tofu marinade, which should take about 6 hours to the tofu to absorb all the flavors. In a food storage container, add all the marinade ingredients and mix them well, forming a very aromatic paste. Cut the tofu into cubes and place it in the container that already has the marinade. Close the container and gently shake to wrap all the flavors with the tofu. Put it in the fridge and let it rest. You can do this process in the morning if you want to cook for dinner, or the night before if you want to do it for lunch.
2- After 6 hours, preheat the oven to 200°C.
3- Cut the pumpkin and the potatoes into cubes with the same size, the beets into smaller cubes, the carrots thinly sliced, cut the pepper lengthwise, the onions into quarters and the garlic chopped.
4- Place a sheet of parchment paper on the oven tray, and display the vegetables on top. Add all the spices and wrap them well with your hands to make sure that all the vegetables are well seasoned.
5- Bake for 50 minutes, or until you see that the vegetables are well caramelized. Some vegetables like onions and peppers will caramelize first but don’t be afraid to leave them there until the end. It will be worth it.
6- Remove your vegetables from the oven every 15 minutes, and stir them with a spatula so they can cook evenly. Put it back in the oven.
7- You only will add the tofu to the vegetables after the first 20 minutes in the oven. This will prevent the tofu from becoming too dry. So after the first 20 minutes, add the tofu and all the marinade to the vegetables you have in the oven. Stir well with a spatula to evenly distribute the tofu and put it back in the oven.
8- After 50 minutes has elapsed remove the roast from the oven.
9- They’re ready to serve and enjoy!
1- Start by making the tofu marinade, which should take about 6 hours to the tofu to absorb all the flavors. In a food storage container, add all the marinade ingredients and mix them well, forming a very aromatic paste. Cut the tofu into cubes and place it in the container that already has the marinade. Close the container and gently shake to wrap all the flavors with the tofu. Put it in the fridge and let it rest. You can do this process in the morning if you want to cook for dinner, or the night before if you want to do it for lunch.
2- After 6 hours, preheat the oven to 200°C.
3- Cut the pumpkin and the potatoes into cubes with the same size, the beets into smaller cubes, the carrots thinly sliced, cut the pepper lengthwise, the onions into quarters and the garlic chopped.
4- Place a sheet of parchment paper on the oven tray, and display the vegetables on top. Add all the spices and wrap them well with your hands to make sure that all the vegetables are well seasoned.
5- Bake for 50 minutes, or until you see that the vegetables are well caramelized. Some vegetables like onions and peppers will caramelize first but don’t be afraid to leave them there until the end. It will be worth it.
6- Remove your vegetables from the oven every 15 minutes, and stir them with a spatula so they can cook evenly. Put it back in the oven.
7- You only will add the tofu to the vegetables after the first 20 minutes in the oven. This will prevent the tofu from becoming too dry. So after the first 20 minutes, add the tofu and all the marinade to the vegetables you have in the oven. Stir well with a spatula to evenly distribute the tofu and put it back in the oven.
8- After 50 minutes has elapsed remove the roast from the oven.
9- They’re ready to serve and enjoy!
* You can replace or add any other vegetable of your choice.
* You can replace or add any other vegetable of your choice.
Tag @things_about_a_vegan_girl on instagram and hashtag it #thingsaboutavegangirl so we can see all the masterpiece you made!!!
Tag @things_about_a_vegan_girl on instagram and hashtag it #thingsaboutavegangirl so we can see all the masterpiece you made!!!