I wanted dinner for day-one of my cleanse to be special and exciting, something to look forward to. Vegetables are hard to come by this time of year and the selection is limited compared to the warm months, but fear not, winter root vegetables are great! I grabbed a ton of them at the market and decided I would roast a big pan of vegetables with fresh herbs and a little olive oil. I figured this would also be nice as I could use the leftovers in a couple of other meals. Later in the week I plan to roast some potatoes and add them to these leftover vegetables with some tomato sauce and vegetable broth for a delicious ragout.

These vegetables are so satisfying and hearty, there is something about roasting that brings a rustic depth of flavor to just about anything. I served it as a main course over brown rice, it would also be great over polenta or just as is as a side. A pan of roast vegetables like this are great, you can really add anything. I thought about adding some red potatoes but ran out of room. You could also add celery root, turnips, rutabaga, sweet potatoes, squash, etc. I tried to buy organic on everything I could, but didn’t stress over it if I couldn’t find organic. I just made sure to really give all the vegetables a really good cleaning. The key when cutting the vegetables is to try to keep them all relatively around the same size, so they cook evenly. Obviously if you aren’t on a cleanse you could certainly give these a sprinkle with a nice sea salt. I skipped it and it really didn’t even need it. This was a hard one to photograph as the images don’t even begin to show all the colors and beautiful textures. So you’ll just have to make it for yourself to see.

Roasted Winter Vegetables

1/2 lb  of brussels sprouts, halved
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into cubes
3 small carrots, peeled and cut into cubes
2 beets, peeled and cut into cubes
1 eggplant, cut into cubes
2 small onions, peeled and cut into eighths
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large bunch of italian parsley, roughly chopped
2 sprigs of rosemary, roughly chopped
2 sprigs of thyme, roughly chopped
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 475º.

In a heavy roasting pan, combine all of the vegetables and olive oil, toss to coat. Roast 20 to 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until the vegetables are nicely browned. Sprinkle with a bit of fresh herbs, serve as a side or over brown rice as a meal.