Food - Drink
What You Should Do To Vegetables Before Roasting Them
By CARA O'BLENESS
Sheet pan meals are an excellent way to get a quick dinner on the table, but each ingredient should be prepared the right way to maximize flavor. Before you toss your protein, seasonings, and veggies together on one baking sheet and cook them in the oven, you should parcook your veggies first.
Pre-cooking vegetables before roasting them is the best way to make them caramelized yet tender on the inside. While parboiling produce in water is fine, steam-roasting them is the best way to retain moisture; to try this method, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and chop the veggies into uniform pieces.
Spread the veggies out in a single layer on a foil-lined sheet pan and add salt, pepper, olive oil, and a few splashes of vinegar for an extra kick. Cover with foil and steam the vegetables for half the cooking time, then remove the foil for the second half of the cooking time to allow them to roast and caramelize.
This method works for almost any vegetable, whether you're eating them in a sheet-pan dinner or on their own, but cooking times will vary depending on the produce. Root vegetables like beets, potatoes, and carrots may take up to 45 minutes, while thin veggies like asparagus and green beans only take 10 to 20 minutes.