Roasted Spring Vegetables, Three Ways

Instead of just one amazingly simple and tasty recipe, I decided that I should give you three!

Once you’ve tried this recipe, you will want to roast all the veggies you can get your hands on!  This makes for a fabulous side dish to all your Spring roasts, grilled chicken or even poached fish.  But what about adding some poached eggs, and eating this as a meal!?  We love our roasted and grilled veggies, and are happy to have a huge plateful with a fried egg on the side and calling it dinner.

Which Vegetables to Use

Right now the markets are filled with all the fresh Spring veggies that are popping up out of the gardens everywhere.  Look for Spring carrots (not the big thick winter carrots that have been stored in cellars for months. Shallots, Broccolini, Asparagus, Snap Peas, Green Beans, Radishes, Scallions, even Cauliflower and Romanesco will work for this Spring time dish.  Of course, if you want an Autumn version, just switch out the veggies for squash, brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, parsnips etc.

How to Prep This Dish

Have your veggies cleaned and trimmed ahead of time.  If your carrots are on the thick side, then slice then in half and into 1.5 to 2 inch lengths, or the radishes are especially large, halve or quarter them. Slice the broccolini into large bite sized pieces.  Once any meat you have prepared is almost finished cooking or being grilled, you can get ready to steam the veggies.  The total time for steaming is 5 minutes.  The total time in the hot oven is 8 minutes or so.  So we are not talking a lot of time in total!

The First Step, Steaming and Roasting the Vegetables

This is really a two step process which guarantees that all the veggies going into the oven are already tender.  So first off, we are going to steam the veggies. And you will be steaming them in two steps.  Prep your steaming pot and basket.  Once the water is boiling, add the thicker, tougher veggies in one layer (this would include any root veggies and the stems of asparagus etc.  After two minutes, layer the remaining vegetables on top.  They won’t need as much time over the steaming water. Once they are steamed to just tender (five minutes in total), they will all get spread out on a baking sheet with a little butter, oil and seasonings and into a 425F oven till just roasted through.  I stop short of charring them because I like the look of the pastel colours of roasted Spring veggies, but feel free to add a bit of char via the broiler if desired.

First Finished Dish

Once the veggies are roasted, for a simple and easy side dish, just season well with salt and pepper, and Rose Harissa, one of my most favourite spice blends.  The rose harissa adds a little warmth, as well as a floral note, which pairs beautifully with these vegetables.  I have linked above to a homemade paste version of this beautiful condiment.  But I usually just use a dry spice blended powder that I can sprinkle on my dishes.  Here is the link to this version. If you use the paste version, blend it with melted butter to toss the roasted veggies in. Of course, you could easily switch the rose harissa out for chopped fresh thyme, za’atar, or other favourite spice blend.  Just don’t be shy, make sure it has a presence in the dish.  Serve as is with another pat or two of butter, and this is a perfect side to your more complex meal.  It will add visual presence without being distracting flavour-wise.

Second Finished Dish

So we have our veggies seasoned with the salt, pepper and rose harissa.  Now what?  Honey!! Yes, a great drizzle of runny honey over everything is a perfect way to accent these tender and succulent vegetables.  And honey works fabulously with the warmth of the rose harissa.  Again, if you stop here, no one will complain!  But if you are feeding ones who aren’t used to extra sweetness on their veggies, (like my mum would have been) you can stop at the First Dish.

Third Finished Dish

And how to take the Second Dish and turn it into an even more delicious dish?  Feta cheese!!  The salty briny nature of feta is a perfect contrast to the sweetness of the honey and the slight heat of the rose harissa.  Seriously, this version is a showstopper, both visually and for your tastebuds! This is the one I make if I want fresh roasted veggies for a meal.  The brightness of the vegetables, with the creamy and savoury presence of the feta cheese makes this a complete meal for me.  And yes, you can totally replace the feta with ricotta, bocconcini or goat cheese if you so desire.

This is the perfect side to the Roast Boneless Leg of Lamb I shared with you the other day.  What’s even better, you can whip this up while the roast is resting!  So fast! And like I mentioned, serving this dish with eggs, or hummus and bread, and you will be totally content.

Here are some other fabulous dishes that these veggies should be accompanying: Citrus Fennel and Thyme Roasted Pork Loin,   Roast Chicken with Fennel, Rosemary and Lemon   Citrus Ginger and Honey Roast Chicken

Love Jen