Roasting bigger chunks of veggies lets them caramelized on the outside without drying out, while retaining plenty of tenderness inside. The key is blanching. When serving a crowd, start with an ample supply of veggies since they shrink considerably during roasting.
Courtesy of Jennifer Low.
ingredients
Dressing
Veggie Platter
directions
Combine ingredients and set aside.
Veggies can be trimmed, blanched and oiled earlier in the day and kept covered at room temperature until roasting time. Note: different veggies are peeled or left unpeeled, plus parsnips and beets blanch for different lengths of times.
Peel potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks. Peel onions, keep whole for time-being. Peel carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks. Peel sweet potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks. Cut cauliflower into 2-inch chunks. Peel celery root, cut into 2-inch chunks. Separate garlic head into unpeeled cloves. Peel parsnips, cut into 2-inch chunks. Leave beets unpeeled and whole for time-being.
Bring large pot of lightly salted water to simmer. Blanch the following vegetables in batches for 4 minutes: potatoes, onions, carrots, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, celery root and garlic. Drain with slotted spoon and transfer to large bowl after each blanching. Top up water in pot as required to fully immerse veggies. Bring back to simmer after each blanching. Cut blanched onions in half.
Blanch parsnips for 6 minutes. Drain and add to bowl of veggies.
Mix 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar with 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus black pepper to suit taste (reserve about 2 teaspoons for beets) and drizzle over veggies. Mix to coat. Add a little more olive oil, if you need to lightly coat all sides of veggies. Cover and set aside until roasting time.
6.
To roast, preheat oven to 400 F. Spread blanched veggies (except beets) over two parchment-lined baking sheets. Avoid crowding or browning will be uneven. Roast sheets of veggies and foil-covered dish of beets in oven 45 to 50 minutes, turning once, until knife can be easily inserted into thickest pieces.
Transfer all hot veggies to warm platter. Drizzle with reserved dressing. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.