Roasting And Baking
Many vegetables, particularly fibrous roots and tubers and vegetable fruits, are suited to roasting on their own or baking with an accompanying sauce. The long cooking time renders them tender and intensifies their flavour.
ROASTING POTATOES
For a crisp and crunchy outside and soft creamy centre, the trick is to parboil the potatoes first, let them cool, and then roast them. Very hot oil and a very hot oven are essential. For an alternative, Continental, method of roasting potatoes.
1. Peel the potatoes. Leave small ones whole; cut large potatoes into chunks. Parboil in salted water for 10 minutes, then drain and let cool.
2. Scratch the potatoes with a fork (this helps make them crisp). Pour 1 cm oil into a roasting tin and heat at 200°C until very hot.
3. Add the potatoes and turn them to coat in the oil. Return the tin to the oven and roast the potatoes for 1-1¼ hours, turning them twice. Drain on paper towels.
ROASTING TIMES
The times given below are for roasting vegetables in olive oil ot 200°C. All times are approximate.
• AUBERGINES 30 minutes
• CARROTS 45 minutes
• PARSNIPS 30-45 minutes
• SWEET POTATOES 45 minutes
• TURNIPS 30-45 minutes
• WINTER SQUASH 30-45 minutes
ROAST GARLIC FLOWERS
Roasting mellows and sweetens the flavour of garlic so that it can be used as a delicious accompaniment as well as a flavouring. Roast whole heads of garlic in their skins at the same time as a joint of meat. If they are trimmed decoratively to form a flower, they also make very attractive garnishes.
Slice off the top of each head of garlic, cutting through the cloves. Place them cut-side up in a baking dish. Brush with olive oil and roast at 180°C for about 50 minutes.
ROASTING BEETROOT
Raw beetroot is left unpeeled for roasting so that the colour does not bleed. Cut off the tops, leaving the stalks intact.
Wrap beetroot in foil and roast at 150°C for 1-1½ hours. Let cool slightly and peel. Dot with butter and season with black pepper and coarsely ground sea salt before serving.
ROASTING PEPPERS
When peppers are roasted they acquire an intensely sweet, smoky flavour. The skin is always removed. The flesh, which becomes quite soft, is usually sliced or diced for eating as it is, or for use in composite dishes.
1. Put pepper in a roasting tin. Roast at 200°C, turning once, until skin is charred, 10-12 minutes.
2. Enclose the pepper in a plastic bag. Knot or seal the bag and leave until the pepper is cold.
3. Remove the pepper and core it. Lift the charred skin with a pointed knife, and peel it off.
QUICK ROASTING
This time-saving method is ideal if you only need to roast one or two peppers.
Spear the pepper with a long handled fork. Hold it over a gas flame and turn it slowly, until the skin is blackened.
ROASTING IN OLIVE OIL
This quick-and-easy technique of roasting vegetables is most often used in Italy and France. For the best flavour, use a good-quality extra virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and herbs such as rosemary or thyme.
POTATOES
Put potato chunks (pommes châteaux are shown here) in a roasting tin. Sprinkle with 2-4 tbsp olive oil, chopped fresh herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste mix well. Roast at 200°C turning once or twice, until well browned, about 45 minutes.
RATATOUILLE
Put sliced courgettes, peppers, aubergines and onions in a roasting tin and add a bouquet garni. Sprinkle with 3-4 tbsp olive oil, crushed garlic and salt and pepper to taste; mix well. Roast at 180°C for about 1 hour, turning once or twice.
MAKING A POTATO GRATIN
The term au gratin refers to any dish topped with cheese and baked in a shallow dish until brown and crispy. The potatoes in the classic gratin dauphinois, are parboiled in milk before baking. This lends a rich taste and ensures the potatoes cook in the required time.
A HINT OF GARLIC
For a subtle garlic flavour, cut a garlic clove in half and rub the cut surfaces over the inside of baking dish. Garlic juices will not be as strong as the actual flesh.
