The “Not-So-Simple

I recently posted on Facebook about my favorite dinner meal. In fact, it’s what I tend to eat almost always, when I eat at home. My favorite dinner is a bowl of oven roasted veggies with seitan and nutritional yeast. What I took for granted to be a very simple and basic preparation, turns out, is not the case. I received many comments, questions and private messages in regard to this post. People asked about everything from what temperature I set the oven at to how I season the vegetables. One person insisted that she is “scientific” about roasting her vegetables and yet they never come out right. After asking her a few questions, I concluded that the oil she was using, while it is an incredible quality oil, is not suited for this type of preparation. So, needless to say, I would like to share with you some simple tips on how to easily make delicious roasted veggies.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. If you have an oven with a "true convection" or "convection roast" setting, use that.
While the oven is preheating, prepare your vegetables. In the colder months, I love to use cauliflower, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, butternut squash and a variety of mushrooms. Chose whatever makes you happy or what is in season at your local market. Clean them and cut them into similar size pieces so they cook at relatively the same rate.
Never wash your mushrooms. Mushrooms are like sponges and will soak up and hold onto all the water and become a mushy, soggy mess. Either use a clean towel to gently rub away any dirt or peel they outside layer away from the mushroom caps. This is less of an issue with wild mushrooms like oyster, king trumpet and lion's mane (which happen to be my 3 favorite).
Heavy duty sheet pans are the best as they will transfer heat evenly, but a cookie sheet will do if necessary. Spray the pan with cooking spray. I love the coconut oil from Trader Joe’s. If you’re one of those people that hates coconut, don’t fret. There is no coconut flavor to this spray. If you prefer to use liquid oil, I recommend using the lightest oil possible. Try grapeseed, avocado or sunflower and brush the bottom of the sheet pan with a light coating of oil.
Next, grab some large mixing bowls. Have as many bowls as you have kinds of vegetables. Put each kind of vegetable into a separate bowl and drizzle with your oil of choice. I also add my seasonings here. Sometimes I will use smoked paprika or the Umami Seasoning from Trader Joe’s. I always like to use a season salt as well. My favorite is Borsari Original Blend. Once the veggies are in the bowl with the oil and the seasonings, then, get in there with your hands and massage the vegetables. This not only ensures that they are evenly coated, but also infuses them with your love and energy.
If you are using a spray oil instead of a liquid, spread the veggies on the sheet trays and generously spray with the oil. Then sprinkle your seasonings evenly over the top of the veggies.
One more thing I should add. Different vegetables have different cook times. For this reason, I group my vegetables accordingly. I will put my cauliflower and butternut squash on one tray and put that tray in the oven about 10-15 minutes before the tray that has my Brussel sprouts and 20-30 minutes before the tray with the broccoli and mushrooms.
Check the progression periodically and maybe rotate the trays and give them a shake once during the cooking process.