Roasted Vegetables with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

When you are given fresh vegetables from the garden, the best compliment you can pay to the gardener is to prepare them as plainly as possible. Simply roasting them emphasizes their sweetness and freshness. This Roasted Vegetables with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette really brought out the best of my friend’s garden bounty.

Some of you may have read that I had a mini vacation in Colorado recently. I really enjoyed myself going to all my old “haunts” and visiting friends. It was such a joy to catch up with my dear friend, Melanie. We had a lot of fun out in the sun in her vegetable garden.

Melanie’s vegetable garden is chocked full of tomatoes, root vegetables, squashes, and flowers. I am all for purple vegetables this season and was really touched when she immediately dug up some purple potatoes, purple carrots, and stripped chioggia beets for me. Those purple carrots are a real treat! They are much sweeter and more tender than regular carrots. IMHO, purple carrots are best eaten raw without dressing.

When we got back into the house, they had something exciting in store for me. Her talented son, Adam, whom I have known since he was a toddler, had just published his first book, The Cimeter of the Ages. The story is set in a fantasy world of monsters, castles, knights, and magic. The hero is named Atalo who acquires a magnificent weapon. Together with his uncle, they struggled to save their kingdom from a war that could destroy their country. The book is available at Amazon. Adam volunteers regularly with his dad at the Broomfield food bank and will donate 10 percent of his book proceeds to support the Broomfield FISH. You can also read more about Adam and his upcoming books here.

Needless to say, I was thrilled to receive my signed copy of the book from the young and talented author. Congratulations Adam! Well done!

Now, back to my Roasted Vegetables with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette. For color, I added a red onion from the farmer’s market and the last of my own container garden green peppers to the mix. I saved a beet and a couple of purple carrots for an ABC Juice recipe coming up soon on this blog.

Here is a sneak preview of my ABC Juice done using a blender. It’s good and you don’t want to miss it! 😉

Roasted Vegetables with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

 

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

• ½ lb (225g) fingerling potatoes
• 4 baby carrots, halved lengthwise
• 1 beet, cut into ¼ inch slices
• 1 green pepper, cut into chunks
• 1 red onion, peeled and cut into chunks
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Place vegetables in a large bowl. Sprinkle dried thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil over vegetables. Mix well. Transfer to a baking dish.
   
3. Roast vegetables for 30 minutes. When done, remove from oven and transfer to a serving dish.
4. Mix all dressing ingredients together. Drizzle over roasted vegetables.
   
5. Serve immediately.

3.5.3208

I served this Roasted Vegetables with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette with Seared Tuna for a light and healthy meal. The Seared Tuna with Wasabi Mayo recipe will be coming up next on this blog.

Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎