The kindest thing you can do for yourself when you’re stiff from being in the cold is to find some warmth: Because as the chill in your bones starts to fade, so does your stiffness. The same thing happens to hard winter vegetables when they’re enveloped in the heat of the oven — they soften and sweeten as they roast until they’re golden outside and tender in the middle.
A roasted vegetable is a wonderful vegetable, even when cooked simply with only oil, salt and pepper. There are plenty of ways to roast different vegetables, but sometimes, you want a single method that works with everything so you can buy whatever looks good and know what you’re going to do with it.
The sheet-pan method below works just as well on cold weather roots, florets and dark leafy greens as it does with spring’s sprightly asparagus and string beans and summer’s juicy tomatoes and peppers. Just follow these easy instructions and exceptional results are guaranteed:
1. Cut the vegetables into uniform pieces.
Slice your vegetables big or small, just shoot for roughly the same size. Smaller pieces cook more quickly and produce crisper outsides, while larger ones offer more creaminess in the centers. Spread the pieces out on the sheet pan so they don’t steam and end up mushy.
