Caramelized Roasted Vegetables

  • 1 medium eggplant
  • 2 zucchini
  • 2 yellow squash
  • 1 sweet potato
  • 2 medium yellow onion
  • 1 fennel bulb
  • 2 bell peppers, 1 red, 1 green
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 1/3-1/2 cup olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper

Try these roasted vegetables surrounding our Thanksgiving polenta recipe or as a side dish with any meat or fish recipe.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the eggplant by trimming off the ends and cutting eggplant into 1” cubes. Place in a colander over a sink and salt heavily, tossing to coat. Let drain for 30 minutes, then rinse and pat dry. Trim squashes and slice into 1/2” thick slices. Peel sweet potato and cut into ½” slices. Peel garlic, cut each clove in half. Peel onions and slice into 8 wedges each. Trim and thickly slice fennel bulb. Seed peppers and cut into ½” wide strips. Place all vegetables in a large bowl, add olive oil, salt and pepper and toss thoroughly.  Divide evenly onto baking sheets so that vegetables are in a single layer. Roast in the preheated oven until vegetables are caramelizing and softened, about one hour. Use a spatula to toss vegetables a few times during roasting and, if using more than one baking sheet, rotate sheets for even roasting. Arrange on platter right before serving.