More roasted veggies . . .

My latest adventures with roasting vegetables are just getting more and more delicious--I wanted to work on vegan pizzas and thought that roasted veggies would give the pizzas lots of flavor so the cheese wouldn't be missed. I roasted more garlic but this time added thyme. I also roasted tomatoes, which I had not done before (who knows why--it was even easier than roasting garlic and, oh my gosh, so good). And one of my favorite roasted veggies--eggplant. Next post will be about what I did with all those roasted goodies--but in the meantime, here are roasting directions.

Thyme Roasted Garlic

4 bulbs garlic
olive oil
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Preheat oven to 400 degress F. Peel most of the white papery skin of a the garlic bulb, leaving enough so that the cloves still hold together. Slice off about 1/2 inch off the top—just enough so that most of the cloves are exposed. Place garlic bulbs cut side up in a small baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Place a sprig of thyme over each bulb. Cover the dish—if it doesn’t have a cover use foil. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until cloves are soft and outsides have started to brown. Let cool slightly before pressing the paste out of each clove. Keep any unused paste in a covered container in the refrigerator up to one week.

Roasted Eggplant
I love to roast a bunch of eggplant and keep it in my refrigator to put on sandwiches, pizza, pasta, salads—I have even been known to just snack on it plain--really!

Preheat oven to 400 degreees F. Oil large baking sheet. Slice eggplant into 1/2-inch slices. You can slice horizontially or vertically depending on whether you want big or smaller pieces. Lay the slices onto the oiled baking sheet. Brush more olive oil over the tops of slices. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until bottoms are browned. Flip slices and baking until brown—another 5 or 10 minutes.

Roasted Plum Tomatoes
A wonderful, easy way to concentrate the tomato flavor. I recommend the parchment paper because otherwise, the baking sheet is really a pain to clean.

16 plum tomatoes, sliced in half (horizontally or vertically, doesn’t matter)
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper if desired (otherwise oil the baking sheet). Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle tomatoes with sea salt and olive oil. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until skin is blackened. Let tomatoes cool slightly before squeezing the tomatoes out the skin.