There’s nothing quite like the smell of roasting root vegetables to make it really feel like fall!
Ingredients
1 butternut squash
2 sweet potatoes
4 parsnips
4 beets
vegetable oil/olive oil blend
salt & peppers
dried herbs such as sage, oregano or thyme (optional)
Directions
- Prepare each each vegetable according to the instructions below. Note: it’s important when roasting vegetables to cut as uniformly as possible so that they cook in an even manner. You will prepare the first 3 ingredients in the same manner, while the gorgeous red beets need a bit of TLC.
Butternut Squash: peel, de-seed, dice into 1-inch chunks.
Sweet Potatoes: peel if desired; dice into 1-inch chunks
Parsnips: peel and cut into 1-inch chunks
Beets: wash and trim any tops, leave whole
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Place prepared squash, parsnips and sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Toss with a liberal drizzle of oil (you wanted them coated, but not swimming.) Season with salt and pepper, dried oregano, thyme and sage. Note: use whatever herbs you like, or none at all!
- Place cut veg in an even layer on sheet tray and set aside while you prepare the beets.
Prepare the beets
- Add 1-2 inches of water, drizzle with blended oil and season with salt and pepper. Note: the beets shouldn’t be covered in water, but the steam helps cook the beets evenly.
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Place in the oven with the other veggies.
- Roast the pan of squash, parsnips and potatoes until nicely browned and cooked through – this will take approximately 20-35 minutes,
- Place the beets in the oven at the same time, and roast 40 minutes to 1 hour, or until knife tender.
Finish the beets
- Let them cool to room temp. Using GLOVED hands and an old dish towel, gently rub the skin off the cooked beets. Skin should come right off and you’ll have a beautifully roasted beet. Trim off the root and tops, and cut in desired shape. Note: you can 100% peel and dice the beets, treating them in the same manner as the other veggies. But you will lose color on the beets, and the red hue will stain the other veggies while cooking. Plus, you won’t have that ruby-infused liquid to use in Beth’s tip below!
BETH’S PRO TIP: I like to save the liquid leftover from roasting the beets and use with cooked beets and some butter to make a vibrant beet puree to serve with fish or chicken.