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Roasted root vegetables

Taken from the Riverford Farm Cook Book
Serves 4

You can adapt this recipe to suit your own tastes - and what you've got in your fridge. Extra herbs can be added for more flavour but, left alone, these make a great accompaniment to most types of meat and also serve as a filling meal on their own.

Ingredients

• About 1kg mixed vegetables – choose from:

  - baking potatoes
  - beetroot
  - carrots
  - celeriac
  - Jerusalem artichokes
  - squash
  - parsnips
  - red onions or shallots
  - turnip
  - swede

• 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• olive oil for drizzling
• 1 tsp thyme leaves and/or chopped rosemary
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Peel the vegetables and cut them into three-cm chunks; if you are using beetroot and carrot, cut them slightly smaller as they take longer to cook. If using onions, cut them into quarters, leaving the root on to hold them together; leave shallots whole.
2. Parboil the potatoes for two minutes, then drain. Put all the vegetables in a roasting tray in a single layer, add the garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with the herbs and season with salt and pepper. Place in an oven preheated to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and roast for about an hour, turning half way through, until all the vegetables are tender and browned.