roasted cauliflower, carrots & shallots + red wine vinegar herb dressing
there was a bit of a hideous in my three part dinner series last week so I could share my gluten free, browned butter carrot cake with you for easter but we are back to it this week with the last dish in the series.
you can find the first two here (radicchio, chickpea and herbed balsamic quinoa salad) and here (thyme, oregano & white wine chicken). the final part of the series are these beautifully roasted carrot, cauliflower and shallots with a red wine vinegar herb dressing. this recipe is adapted from curtis stone's cookbook "good food, good life" and it is absolutely wonderful. i switched out the tarragon in his recipe for oregano and basil, the tarragon is really nice as well but i find it overpowering sometimes and really have to be in the mood for tarragon where as the oregano and basil make the dressing much lighter. but you really can use pretty much any herb you like, thyme, cilantro, parsley...
i literally make these roasted veggies and dressing all of the time now, it is one of paul's favourite dishes. i had never really thought of putting a dressing on my roasted veggies before reading curtis stone's recipe and now i do all of the time. it is just a way to kick them up a slight notch and you can present them in such a beautifully plated way with the dressing poured over the veggies and the herbs shining through.
i like my roasted veggies slightly crispy and charred so i leave them in the oven for longer than most may. the shallots especially, when left in a little longer than normal come out so perfectly crispy with that slight softness, mmmmm soooo good! but to each their own, if you like your veggies without the crisp and chariness take them out of the oven whenever you like!
these veggies can really be paired with any weeknight meal. they go really nice with the others in my dinner series but i have mixed and matched these with all sorts of things. the same goes for the other two dishes, they can be mains or sides with each other or with others. have fun and make them your own, have another favourite herb you want to put in the dressing do. nothing is concrete around here.
that actually goes for all of my recipes, except of course baking, because you know baking is a science. but anything savoury can be played with, a pinch more of this or that. don't like a certain ingredient switch it up with one you know you do like. cooking should be fun, it should be your own, especially savoury cooking. there really is an alternative for everything out there so don't be afraid to switch things up a bit. and of course you can play around with baked items too as long as the propotions of things stay the same.
roasted cauliflower, carrots & shallots + red wine vinegar herb dressing
ingredients
one head of cauliflower
1 bunch of carrots
4 shallots
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp fresh basil
3 tbsp fresh oregano
(or any herbs really thyme, cilantro, parsley...)
1 large garlic clove
salt and pepper
directions
preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
chop your cauliflower into florets and cut the carrots in half length wise. peel the shallots, cut them in half length wise an then peel apart the layers so that they are kept whole.
toss all of the veggies and shallots in some olive oil, salt and pepper. place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 35-45 minutes (depending on how crispy and charred you like them, i think the longer the better). tossing every 20 minutes.
in a small bowl whisk together the red wine vinegar, olive oil, finely chopped garlic and freshly chopped herbs. season with salt and pepper.
when the veggies are done plate them on a large plate and pour the dressing over top. serve immediately.