Oven Roasted Vegetables with Garlic Dressing Recipe

Oven Roasted Vegetables with Garlic Dressing Recipe 

Jesse Bluma at Pointe Viven. All rights reserved.

Dear Food Lover,

When God hands you a generous basket of root vegetables, make this dish.  The following recipe for roasted vegetables and dressing is the how-to for intensifying flavor and is a crowd pleaser in the autumn and winter.  The composition of acorn squash, Mexican squash, baby purple potatoes, celery root, parsnips, red onion, Mexican green onions, curly kale, lemon, sage, and olive oil is a colorful side-dish or main meal if the ratios are increased.  Enjoy this warm and smokey salad at your next gathering of family and friends.  

Acorn squash flesh has a slightly buttery and sweet flavor.

Mexican squash is mild in flavor and tender.

Purple potatoes have pigment that shields them from high levels of ultraviolet light in the high altitudes of Peru and Bolivia, hence the color.

Serves: 8

Ingredients

1 acorn squash; approximately 1 ½ pounds

1 pound baby purple potatoes


1 medium celery root; approximately 12 ounces

3 peeled parsnips 

1 large red onion

3 medium Mexican onions

½ organic lemon

½ bunch curly kale

3 Tablespoons olive oil

Coarse salt 

Freshly ground pepper



1 garlic head (also called a bulb) (for dressing)

1 Tablespoon olive oil (for roasting garlic head/bulb)

⅓ cup white wine vinegar (not to be confused with white vinegar) (for dressing)



1 Tablespoon fresh sage (for dressing)



⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil (for dressing)



Celery root is crisp and has a hint of a sweet-earthy flavor.

The peppery, grassy, and carrot like qualities of parsnips is intriguing.  

Red onions are spicy when raw, yet deliciously sweet when roasted.

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204.444 degrees Celsius). 

Place garlic head/bulb on enough aluminum foil to wrap around.

Drizzle 1 Tablespoon olive oil on head/bulb of garlic on aluminum foil.

Wrap the garlic head/bulb in the aluminum foil. 

Place foil wrapped head/bulb of garlic on a roasting pan.

Place the garlic head/bulb in the oven and roast until very tender, about 1 ½ hours.  *Leave the oven on to roast the vegetables. 

Let garlic head/bulb cool slightly before using in dressing or refrigerate in an airtight container overnight.

Cut the garlic head/bulb head in half crosswise (through the circumference). 

Finely chop the fresh sage.

Warm a saucepan to a medium-low heat. 

Squeeze the pulp of the roasted garlic into the saucepan.

Whisk in the white wine vinegar to the saucepan with roasted garlic.

Add the finely chopped sage into the saucepan with the roasted garlic and white wine vinegar. 

Gradually add in olive oil to sauce pan with the roasted garlic, white wine vinegar, and sage, whisking constantly for approximately 3 minutes until the dressing develops.   

Remove saucepan of dressing from the stove burner.




Fresh sage has a eucalyptus aroma with subtle lemon flavor.

Rinse the acorn squash, Mexican squash, baby purple potatoes, celery root, parsnips, Mexican onions, lemon, and kale with water to clean, then pat dry with a clean dish towel. 


Carefully cut the acorn squash crosswise into ¼”-thick rings.

Seed the acorn squash rings.

Trim the acorn squash rings to clean up the curves.

Cut the Mexican squash crosswise into ¼” coins.

Halve the baby purple potatoes

Trim and peel the celery root.

Cut the celery root into ¼” slices.

Cut the celery root slices into wedges (triangular shaped pieces).

Remove any thin papery skin on the outer layer of the Mexican onions. 

Slice lengthwise (up and down) the white and pale-green parts (not the dark green parts) of the Mexican onions into ¼” pieces. 

Peel the parsnips.

Cut parsnips into 1” cubes.




Peel the red onion.

Carefully use a mandoline to julienne (cut into thin strips) the red onion.

Cut the lemon in half.

Juice half the lemon.

Coat the prepared vegetables above with the lemon juice.

Place the prepared acorn squash, Mexican squash, baby purple potatoes, celery root, and parsnips into a large bowl or pot.

Drizzle the prepared vegetables with 3 Tablespoons olive oil.

Add in 1 teaspoon salt to the bowl or pot of vegetables. 

Then, add in ¼ teaspoon pepper into the bowl or pot of vegetables.

Gently, stir the vegetables in the bowl or pot with a spoon or hands to evenly coat the vegetables with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. 

Line two large roasting pans with parchment paper.

Evenly spread the vegetables from the bowl or pot onto the lined roasting pans in a single layer, making sure not to crowd the vegetables together.

Place the roasting pans of vegetables in the oven and roast for 15 minutes.


Add the prepared red onion and Mexican onions into the bowl or pot.

Drizzle in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil.

Gently stir to coat the red onion and Mexican onions with the olive oil.

After the vegetables in the oven have roasted for 15 minutes, add the red onion and Mexican onions into the roasting pans. 

Roast for 7 minutes.

Then, at about this 23 minute mark of roasting time, carefully use a spatula or fork to turn ingredients over in the pan to evenly roast.

Roast for approximately 23 minutes, until the ingredients in the pan are golden brown and tender.  The total roasting time at this point will be approximately 35 minutes. 

Remove the roasting pans from the oven and place on wire cooling racks.



De-stem the kale by tearing away the center stalk from each leaf of kale.

Neatly tear the kale leaves into bit sizes.

Lay a bed of torn kale onto a large serving dish.

Top the bed of kale on the dish with the roasted vegetables from the roasting pans.

Baby curly kale is tender, bitter, and holds up well in salads with dressing and other ingredients. 

Stir the dressing or place the dressing in a jar with a lid to shake.

Re-warm the dressing if needed.

Ladle the warm dressing over the roasted vegetables and kale on the dish.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

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Image credit: iStock