Sarah's Seasonal Recipes

Summer Roasted Vegetables

This is a recipe I've used over and over in many different incarnations.  Originally it was intended to be mixed with béchamel sauce as a lasagne filling, but I've found it works equally well as pizza or foccacia topping, as a pasta sauce in its own right or as a delicious side-dish. All the ingredients are coming into season in the next few weeks, and this freezes well, so it's worth cooking up several batches and stashing them for quick winter dinners.
 
Versatile Roasted Veg
1 lb cherry tomatoes
1 lb red, orange or yellow bell peppers
1 red onion
1 medium eggplant
1 lb Portobello mushrooms (optional)
1 head garlic
a good handful of fresh basil leaves
 
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp + 2 tsp salt
ground pepper
 
Dice the eggplant, place it in a colander and sprinkle it liberally with 2 tbsp salt, tossing to ensure each piece is well-coated. Place a bowl under the colander and leave for at least 1/2 hour, then rinse with cool water and toss dry. (This step leaches the bitterness out of the eggplant.)
 
Preheat oven to 375F. Line one large or two small baking sheets with parchment paper.
 
Roughly dice the peppers, onion and mushrooms into a large mixing bowl. Add the tomatoes and eggplant. In small bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, 2 tsp salt and pepper, whisking well. Pour the mixture over the vegetables, reserving a small amount. Toss the vegetables well to coat everything.
 
Spread the vegetables over the baking sheets so there is only one layer in all places. Cut the top off the head of the garlic so most of the segments are partially exposed. Place the garlic head in one corner and pour the remaining olive oil mixture over it.

Place trays in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes, until all vegetables are tender and starting to caramelize. Remove from oven, transfer vegetables to a large bowl then, using an oven mitt, squeeze the garlic head over the bowl to get the roasted garlic out.
 
Chop or tear basil. Toss the basil with the hot veggies, and it's ready to use.

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