Monday, September 30, 2013

Roasted Vegetables with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette



This past weekend I visited my parents and did a lot of cooking with my mom, which was wonderful and practically perfect in everyway. We had so much fun! (I wish the weekend was longer, you know?! Mondays! (Did that sound like a relatable problem? I’m trying to be relatable.  Is it working?)

For lunch on Saturday Mom roasted a bunch of delicious veggies and I made vinaigrette to toss them in. It was pretty delicious, and eating lunch on the screened in porch with hints of fall in the air only made it taste even better.  Since people are frequently chastising us about not using measured amounts and never writing down our original recipes, I recreated our meal tonight at my own home and paid attention to what I did and (Gasp!) wrote it down. This might just be my new favorite fall meal. It’s beautiful, it’s delightfully healthy, it’s warm, and it’s delicious.  

Roasted Vegetables with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
Serves 4 

2 medium sweet potatoes, chopped
3 beets, peeled and chopped
3 red potatoes, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 bunches of kale, torn into big bite sized pieces
A drizzle of olive oil

Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder


Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Chop all the vegetables, except the kale, into roughly 1 x 1 inch pieces and toss them in a bowl with a little drizzle of olive oil.  Tear the kale, toss it with just a bit of oil as well and set it aside in a bowl.  Put the chopped veggies in big roasting pan or a cookie sheet if you have one big enough. Roast them for about 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, put the kale on top and keep cooking for about 5 more minutes but keep an eye on that kale- you don’t want it to burn and it should still be a pretty bright green. You just sort of want to wilt it a bit and soften it up. While your veggies are roasting, make the vinaigrette. Put all the ingredients in a mason jar and shake it up until it’s nice and mixed.  Once the veggies are done, pull them out and put them in a big bowl.  Add the vinaigrette and toss everything around until the dressing is evenly distributed.  Serve right away so it’s still warm!  I like serve a bit of toasted bread with goat cheese on it on the side.