Oven Roasted Root Vegetables

This is beautifully colored and delicious, with just the flavors of the vegetables coming through. It is wonderful served right out of the oven, but also is equally fine served at room temperature.

		Oil a large lasagna or roasting pans**, and put in oven. Turn oven to 425.
Butternut squash Carrots Red Onion White/Yellow Onion Shallot		Peel butternut squash - and cut into chunks. (approximately 1.5 inches) Peel carrots and cut into similar size chunks. Peel shallots but leave whole, unless they are very large. For the onions, I peel but try to leave on the root end (to hold the wedges together). Cut into vertical wedges - eighths or quarters depending on the size of the onion. Note: you can also use sweet potatoes, or white or red potatoes ( fingerlings are wonderful!). I sometimes add mushroom caps or garlic cloves after the first 20 minutes.
Extra virgin olive oil Black pepper		Toss all vegetables into large bowl with some extra-virgin oil and freshly ground black pepper, and mix to distribute the oil. Transfer the vegetables to the preheated pan/s. Bake for 20 minutes. Then shake the pan to move the vegetables around, or use a spatula to turn them over. From now on, you need to bake for another ten minutes, then check if the vegetables are done. Depending on the size of the chunks, some may cook much faster than others - just remove them to a side dish to keep them from overcooking. Just keep repeating the every 10 minutes check until all the vegetables are nicely browned and cooked. You will learn after a while how long things take -- I haven't made this since last winter and have forgotten already! Other recipes say it may take as much as 50-60 minutes total; but I must make smaller chunks because I thinks it's usually in the 30-40 minute range.

** A cookie-sheet with sides also works, but you have to be more careful when shaking. You do not want the vegetables jammed together, so based on how many vegetables you are making, you may need to use a second pan (I almost always do)

Connie Clark