One of my children introduced me to roasting vegetables at high heat, and I haven’t looked back since. I used to roast vegetables at plain vanilla 350 degrees F, and they turned out just fine. But roasting them at 450 degrees F or even 500 degrees F keeps the vegetables juicy on the inside and crisp on the outside.
You can’t get distracted while roasting vegetables at high heat, or you’ll incinerate them. Even if you’re careful, some of the vegetables will get singed, but that’s a small price to pay for the astonishing flavor of vegetables roasted at high heat. The sugars caramelize, and the flavors of the vegetables are intensified by the roasting process.
You can roast almost any vegetables using this recipe. Here, I roasted cauliflower, broccoli and red onion. You don’t have to use a red onion, but I love the pink color of red onions, so I use them almost exclusively when I cook. The red color looks appetizing against the green broccoli and white cauliflower.
I roast vegetables on parchment paper on top of a baking sheet. Parchment paper makes cleanup so much easier. Just toss the paper when you’re done. Roasting vegetables at high heat can make a mess out of a baking pan.
I make an Asian-style sauce out of tamarind paste, garlic, ginger and lemongrass powder. If you can’t find lemongrass powder, you can make it yourself by drying lemon grass stalks in the oven, then grinding them in a coffee grinder. That’s what I did until my organic supermarket started stocking lemongrass powder.
Chop the vegetables, whisk the sauce together, then drizzle it over the vegetables. Dust with salt and pepper, roast for 15 minutes, and eat! If you’re like me, once you start roasting fresh vegetables at high heat, you won’t want to prepare them any other way.
Roasted Cauliflower, Broccoli and Red Onion
Roasting vegetables at high heat brings out their sweet flavor, and keeps them juicy on the inside and crisp on the outside.
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 Small bunch broccoli
- 1 Medium red onion
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
- 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon lemongrass powder
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment, and set aside.
Cut the core out of the cauliflower, and chop the florets into bite-sized pieces
Chop the broccoli into bite-sized pieces
Slice the onion into 1/4" slices. Separate into rings.
Place the vegetables on the baking sheet in a single layer.
In a small bowl, whisk together the tamarind paste, garlic, olive oil, ginger, 1/4 teaspoon pink salt, and lemongrass powder. See NOTE
Drizzle the mixture over the vegetables.
Dust the vegetables with 1/4 teaspoon pink salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
Roast the vegetables in the oven at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes. Check them after 10 minutes, and stir if any are getting too brown.
Remove from oven, and serve immediately.
Notes
If you can't find lemongrass powder, you can make it yourself out of fresh lemongrass stalks. My regular supermarket sells cut up lemongrass stalks in small packages. I take them out of the package, separate the stalks into thin sheets, spread them out on a baking sheet, and dry them in my oven set to 175 degrees F. It can take 1-3 hours for the lemongrass stalks to dry completely. Keep checking them to make sure they're absolutely dry and brittle, but not browned. Then grind them to a fine powder in a coffee grinder. Store in a glass bottle in your spice drawer or cupboard.
Chop up fresh broccoli and cauliflower and arrange the vegetables in a single layer on a parchment-covered baking sheet.
Stir together tamarind ginger sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
Lay the red onion rings on top, drizzle with tamarind ginger sauce, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes.
The high heat caramelizes the sugar in the vegetables and brings out a rich color and flavor.
Serve immediately.
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