Roasted Autumn Veggies: Healthy Comfort Food

Veggies aren’t everyone’s idea of comfort food, and they certainly haven’t always been mine. When I was little, I wasn’t much of a vegetable eater. In fact, I hardly ever touched the array of roasted veggies that my mom cooked for dinner every night. As for my family’s epic Thanksgiving buffet, I skipped over the veggie section entirely. With turkey and mashed potatoes in the lineup, why waste precious plate space?

In middle school, when my adventurous foodie side emerged, I came to realize that vegetables aren’t always a waste of space. After watching my mom sauté, simmer, steam and roast veggies night after night, I found myself questioning my automatic rejection of those colorful, healthy foods.

So I started tasting: first squash, then eggplant, zucchini, fennel and so many others. I memorized my mom’s rules for foolproof, flavor-packed cooking: olive oil, salt and pepper, and loads of fresh herbs. Before I knew it, I was actually looking forward to eating veggies.

Now, I crave them—most often the wholesome, roasted autumn veggies that my mom makes on chilly days including, of course, Thanksgiving. They’re simple, fresh and soul-warmingly good. When I think of these warm, herb-dusted veggies, I think of home, of a glowing oven and a meal shared with family. By that standard, as crazy as it might seem, roasted veggies have become one of my favorite comfort foods.

Fall Roasted Veggies

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 20 minutesCook time: 30 minutesTotal time: 50 minutesServings:8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant cubed into 1 inch pieces
• 1 red bell pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 medium or 4 small zucchini quartered and cubed into 1 inch pieces
• 2 small or 1 large bulb fennel thinly sliced
• 1/2 a medium-sized red onion diced
• 1/2 a medium butternut squash peeled and cubed into 1 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary or basil or thyme

Instructions

1. 
   

   Cut the vegetables and preheat the oven to 425°.

2. 
   

   Place the veggie pieces in a resealable plastic bag, drizzle with the olive oil and shake until evenly coated with oil.

3. 
   

   Spread the veggies evenly on a jelly roll pan or large baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes, until the veggies are slightly soft and beginning to brown.

5. 
   

   Sprinkle the veggies with the chopped herbs and serve warm or at room temperature.

No matter how you’ve felt about veggies in the past, I hope you’ll give these a try. They just might be the Thanksgiving comfort food you didn’t know you were missing.

• Cucumber
• Dinner
• Health
• Onion
• Pepper
• Pumpkin
• Thanksgiving
• Vegetable
• Vegetarian