Oven-Roasted Onions & Carrots
A Food Siren favorite is “Oven-Roasted Onions & Carrots” included in The Angelica Home Kitchen: recipes and rabble rousings from an organic vegan restaurant, a beloved book by Leslie McEachern, passionate cook and food activist, that’s filled with mouth-watering recipes. McEachern, and the crew at her popular restaurant, created a beautiful community of foodies who loved animals! A place where it was understood being a vegan is more than just not eating animal products; rather, it’s a whole way of living. Being fully aware of what we do eat, where it comes from, how it’s grown and harvested, and the way it’s prepared. Ideally, with lots of gratitude and tender, loving care.
Delightfully uncomplicated, easy to assemble and quick to make, this recipe (adapted below) is a go-to in our kitchen! Its simplicity belies the versatility of this scrumptious creation. From a tasty accompaniment to grains, to a perfect stand-alone spread on toasted sourdough. Also, once chilled, toss this mixture with balsamic vinegar and freshly chopped basil, to play yet another delectable part as a bright topping for a leafy salad composed of lettuces, greens and herbs.
Like a beautifully matched couple, onions and carrots when roasted together bring out the best in each other. Together they make up a very flavorful relationship!
And while they’re cozying up to each other we like to imbibe in a tranquil cup of lavender tea.
Yield: 2 ½ cups
Cooking time: 25 minutes
1 quart onions (approx. 1 lb.), sliced into ⅓-inch-thick rings
3 cups carrots (¾ lb.), cut on the diagonal into slices ¼ inch thick and 2 inches long
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Steam the onions and carrots for 3 minutes in a 2-quart saucepan, fitted with a steamer basket and tight-fitting lid.
3. Toss the onions, carrots and pepper together in a bowl.
4. Spread the vegetables on an oiled cookie sheet and roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
5. Allow the vegetable to cool at room temperature.
In the summer, replace half the steamed carrots with raw zucchini slices. Bear in mind that different vegetables require different amounts of time in the oven depending on their density and/or cellular structures. Carrots are hard and don’t give up their water easily, so steaming them in advance helps reduce the roasting time as well as the amount of fat you have to use. Cauliflower, on the other hand, roasts very quickly and will not need to be steamed or parboiled before roasting. Zucchini, which has a fairly high water content and is relatively soft, roasts even more quickly than cauliflower.
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Onion–Flavorful! Immune supportive. From that odiferous, eye-watering family Allium! Loaded with vitamin A; also, a source of iron and calcium. Raw, it draws out impurities, is anti-infective, anti-inflammatory and cough-relieving.
Carrot–Sweet! Excellent source of vitamin A (more easily released after being cooked) that is essential for vision. Avoid storing near apples that give off ethylene creating terpenoids that cause bitterness.
Basil–(Ocimum basilicum)–Aromatic!! Highly medicinal oil with numerous energetics: diaphoretic, febrifuge, nervine, anti-bacterial, antiseptic, anti-fungal and anti-spasmodic. Immortalized in Keats’s epic love poem, ”Isabella; or The Pot of Basil.”
Salads–Succulent! Mix and mingle lettuce (Lactuca satina), greens and fresh herbs. Combine romaine, arugula, bibb and radicchio. Toss in purslane: high in essential fatty acids, a good source of calcium.
Grains–Quinoa! A super food possessing more protein than all other grains; more calcium than milk; vitamins B and E; iron and phosphorus. Dry-roast before cooking to get a nutty flavor.
Tea–Lavender! Lavandula angustifolia’s dried flowers and leaves make a divine tea that’s restorative, calming and has a sublime aroma! Relaxing and uplifting it aids digestion, and helps to ease depression.