Roasted summer vegetable tray bake

There are so many delicious seasonal vegetables in summer and early autumn. When young and tender, they’re perfect in salads for hot, sultry days. But being the UK, good summer weather is not always/often guaranteed. So what to do with all that lovely veg?

Well, there’s lots of recipes you could make but if you would rather be outside or doing something other than cooking, opting for a one-dish recipe is the way to go. Like this gorgeous roasted veg tray bake; everything popped into one large dish and cooked together. You just need to remember when you put it in the oven! I’ve become a big user of the timer button; my memory is rather poor when I become engrossed in other things and the timer has saved many meal from disaster 😉

As seasonal summer vegetables are so fresh and tender, they need less cooking time than tougher winter roots. Use whatever veggies you enjoy or have to hand; the recipe is there as a guideline really. I’d highly recommend adding sweet cherry tomatoes near the end of the cooking time. Their juices add moisture to the dish as well as delightful flavour.

I’m often asked about using oil to roast vegetables in the oven. It’s certainly true that roasting and oil-free cooking don’t always go together. It is possible though. Rinsing the vegetables under the tap just before putting in the oven can help with the caramelisation of natural sugars in the veg and helps them to start browning. You might also want to line the dish or roasting tin with non-stick baking paper otherwise some of your veg, particularly potatoes, will stick to the surface.

Cooking with oil in the oven is different to cooking in a pan on the hob. The heat is not in direct contact with the cooking surface. The super high temperatures found in a pan are not reached in the oven. Yes it’s hot for sure, but it’s circulating heat. If you put a food thermometer into the pan it’s rarely over 100C, especially if the oven is set at 180C or below.

However, I still don’t like to use standard cooking oil for roasting veg, as it’s already been through industrial processing. And I only want to use the smallest amount. So I use extra virgin olive oil in a spray. I find a few squirts does the job.  Especially when the veg is still wet from washing.

This recipe includes flageolot beans for a bit extra plant protein; feel free to use whichever beans you enjoy (or have!). Cooked lentils scattered over the top at the end work well too. And if you want a bit of sauce with your roasted veg then pair it with tumeric tahini sauce, lemon herby dressing or this awesomely vibrant easy green sauce.

In the summer, I tend to just eat this recipe with flat breads (like my sweet potato flatbread) or home-made sourdough. It also works with cooked millet or couscous. Alternatively, just eat it as it is, it’s certainly very filling if you don’t have a big appetite.

I hope you enjoy making this super easy and tasty summer recipe. It’s a weekly winner for us during the summer months. Do make sure you let me know how you get on.

Roasted summer vegetable tray bake

A super tasty one dish supper perfect for tender summer veg.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings: 2 large portions

Course: Main Course

Calories:

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• ½ medium red onion
• 1 medium red pepper
• 1 medium new potato
• 1 medium courgette
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 100 grams fresh dwarf beans green and/or yellow

To serve

• Handful of fresh herbs eg marjoram, oregano, basil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Good glug of cold-pressed flaxseed oil or extra virgin olive oil

Method

 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C
2. Slice the red onion. Scrub the potato and chop into small chunks. Wash and de-seed the red pepper and chop into smallish chunks. Rinse all the prepared veg in under the tap in a sieve.
3. Spray the base of a large oven-proof dish with a few squirts of olive oil. Scatter the chopped veggies into the dish and pop in the oven.
4. Now wash and chop the courgette into smallish chunks and wash the cherry tomatoes. If they are large, cut in half otherwise leave whole.
5. Trim the ends of the beans and wash under the tap.
6. After 15 minutes, remove the roasting veg from the oven and turn with a large spoon. Add the courgette to the dish and return to the oven.
7. After another 10 minutes, add the cherry tomatoes and green beans to the dish. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes.
8. Drain the tin of flageolet beans and rinse well.
9. Remove the roasting veggies from the oven. Scatter the flageolet beans over the veg and stir them in. Return the dish to the oven for another 2 minutes to warm the beans through.
10. Finely chop the fresh herbs. Remove the dish from the oven and scatter the fresh herb over the top. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a good glug of oil.

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