Roasting Vegetables

One of my favorite ways to prepare vegetables is to roast them. This creates such a unique flavor and can turn vegetables you and your kids aren't particularly fond of into your favorite healthy additions to any meal.

Some of the veggies I roast I do so for the purpose of pureeing and adding to other foods. We love roasted butternut squash in homemade mac n cheese and in turkey meatballs. Roasted beets along with shredded apples and ricotta cheese make for amazingly sweet and delicious pink pancakes. Roasted red peppers can be pureed to make this Roasted Red Pepper Macaroni with Smoked Gouda Cheese I created or can be sliced and used on everything from pizza to chicken sandwiches to pasta.

One of the veggies I have never liked before I roasted it was cauliflower. In roasting it a nutty flavor emerges and is so delicious. I often do this as a side but it is also amazing in this recipe by Rachel Ray, Roasted Cauliflower Penne with Rosemary Cream Sauce. Broccoli is another great roasted veggie that we eat as a side, sometimes along with the cauliflower.

Because I had such great results with the cauliflower, when I read about roasted radishes in a recent edition of Whole Living magazine, I was open-minded about it even though I don't particularly care for radishes. We hit up our local farmers market and got a great price on several bunches of radishes. I prepared these to go with our BBQ last night and even roasted the leaves. Both turned out great so I thought I would share the recipe with you all:

Roasted Radishes and Greens
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Separate 1 bunch radishes (halved if large) and their greens and arrange on two rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle each with 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

3. Bake, until radishes are tender and caramelized and greens are crisp, 15-20 minutes. Let cool. (This was perfect for the leaves but I had to go quite a bit longer with the radishes..you really want them soft and browning to get the good roasted flavor:)

What is your favorite roasted vegetable and how do you use it in your meals?