Oven Roasted Vegetables – Move Aside Main Dish

Growing up in Israel we didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. The only information I was exposed to about this holiday was through American movies and TV shows, as I watched American families gathered around a table filled with good food to count their blessings.

Even though I didn’t grow up celebrating Thanksgiving, it was very natural and easy for me to connect to the holiday. Of course the concept of gratitude is universal but more specifically, if we’re talking about food here, I have a strong food connection to Thanksgiving.

For me it always has been (and still is) about the side dishes: in Tunisian cuisine major meals start with a spread of small sides, opening dishes and different salads. I remember, in family gatherings, holidays and parties I filled up my plate with all the side dishes and never cared much that there wasn’t any room left for the main dish…

Let’s (NOT) talk turkey…

Yes, I know that when thinking of a Thanksgiving meal people will immediately imagine the turkey right in the center; but if you ask me, and not only because I’m not a big fan of eating turkey, I think Thanksgiving tries to carry a message actually through the various delicious side dishes.

This holiday sits us down to give perspective on our lives from a gratitude point of view. In a sense it reminds us not to ignore our little blessings in life, sometimes they are the most meaningful ones. Food wise, I think Thanksgiving does the same sort of justice with side dishes by giving them the attention and respect they deserve.

This dish makes it all clear allowing us to appreciate simplicity….

You will need:

2 medium Yellow Potatoes

3 small Purple Potatoes

1 medium Sweet Potato

½ small Butternut Squash

1 medium Purple Onion

1 tbsp. fresh Rosemary minced

1 tbsp. fresh Thyme minced

1 tsp. freshly ground Black Pepper

Coarse Pink Salt (about 1 tsp. the grain are relatively large)

Garlic Salt (about ½ tsp. the grains are smaller)

Olive Oil

Let’s get to work:

Peel all vegetables using a vegetable peeler and cut into cubes the size of 1 inch.

You will need most of your muscles to cut and peel the butternut squash. This is what makes my life a little easier: use a big, wide knife and first cut at “the neck” of the butternut squash. When I don’t use the whole butternut squash, I choose to use the bottom part (the part with the seeds). I find the other part (without the seeds) stores better in the refrigerator. So go ahead and use the bottom part, cut it in half and clear the seeds from the center.

My grapefruit spoon does the BEST job ever! It really should be called “a butternut squash spoon”.

Cut all vegetables into 1 inch cubes (I think I said that already :)).

Have a large oven tray lined up with parchment paper and spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray. Spread your cubed vegetables flat in one layer.

Peel the purple onion and cut into similar sized pieces. Using a medium sized onion – cut it in half and then cut each half into eight equal pieces. With a tendency to fall apart, try to keep the onion pieces together. Add the onion pieces to the tray and arrange between the other vegetables – in the oven the onion will give flavor to its neighbors.

The rule stays the same – everybody should lay flat and in one layer.

Drizzle olive oil on all vegetable and don’t forget anybody, make sure each one gets a little.

Get ready for Fresh Aroma… it is ‘Chopping Thyme’ (and rosemary too). To strip the leaves off the stem (these stems are way too woody- we don’t need them), run your fingers from top to bottom – against the leaves growing direction. Pile the leaves on your cutting board and mince away…

Sprinkle the minced herbs, salts and freshly black ground pepper.

Take a look at the size of these salt grains – I used coarse pink salt, they are relatively large and the amount of salt is accordingly. Of course you have to lower the amount of salt if you use finer grains of salt.

Put the tray in a preheated oven of 400°.

Overall the vegetables need to be roasted for almost an hour. However, after 40 minutes of roasting in the oven, carefully pull the tray out a little and use a slotted turner to flip the vegetables to the other side. Be careful it is HOT in there! This will allow the topside of the vegetable to get roasted as well. It is not easy to get each and every one of them flipped – just do your best. Allow the flipped vegetables to roast for additional 15-20 minutes.

Check out these gorgeous Thanksgiving colors!

Happy and Yummy Thanksgiving…

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Quick Recipe:

Oven Roasted Vegetables-

Peel and cube Potatoes, Purple Potatoes, Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash- 1 inch in size.

Cut the Purple Onion to similar sized pieces.

Lay all vegetables flat in one layer on a parchment paper in a large oven tray.

Drizzle with Olive Oil evenly.

Sprinkle all vegetables with minced Thyme and Rosemary, Coarse Pink Salt, Garlic Salt and Black Pepper.

Roast the vegetable in a preheated oven of 400°.

After 40 minutes carefully give the vegetables a good flip.

Keep roasting for additional 15-20 minutes.