Roasted carrots, Onions and Parsnips - Some Things Just Belong Together

It’s funny how some things just belong together like sand and sea, silver and gold, gin and tonic, Batman and Robin…that kind of stuff.  In this house there are food combo’s which are just not said or served without the other like; chicken, rice and gravy (which we had yesterday) and roasted carrots, onions and parsnips (ditto).  Those combo’s are by far the most popular crowd favorites for Sunday Linner (late lunch + early dinner = linner) and I’m sure will be the meal my kids remember forever. 

 When the fall rolls around in Hilton Head and the sun still shines but there’s a slight chill in the air and the sweaters finally come out, I move from using the BBQ for everything back to the oven for everything.  Then the house starts smelling yummy with the whiff of roasting chicken and simmering stock on the burner, getting ready for gravy making.  I’m not going to bore you with another roasted chicken post (did that a few weeks ago) but I thought worth posting the roasted carrots, onions and parsnips if or no other reason than just a reminder that it’s a great combo and so easy to do.  I love the sweetness that comes out of roasting all the vegetables together just tossed with kosher salt and olive oil.  It reminds me of fall.

I’ll post Mom’s Test Kitchen tomorrow.  She found a fabulous recipe for peas.  It was so good even Sophie (who hates peas) ate them.  You might ask…what in the world could you do to peas to make them THAT good?  Well, pea-pare for tomorrow!

Ingredients

Serves 6-8 – as a side

1 pound bag of baby cut peeled carrots

4 medium parsnips  (peeled)

2 medium sweet Vidalia onions

Kosher salt

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 425°F – if it’s not already there from roasting your chicken.  Peel parsnips and cut into pieces that are slightly larger than the carrots (the parsnips tend to shrink, burn and shrivel if they are the same size as the carrots) Peel and cut the onions into 1/8’s.  In a large roasting pan, add all the vegetables. Drizzle olive oil over and generously sprinkle with salt, toss to coat. Roast for 45 minutes or until the carrots are fork tender and all the vegetables are caramelizing.  Stir halfway through roasting to loosen and rearrange vegetables, making sure everything browns evenly.

It’s All Delicious Notes:  I have been known to add a few tablespoons of brown sugar to the roasting vegetables along with the salt, for added color and sweetness…but that usually depends on how fattening a dessert I made on the day.