The cooking method you need to learn to get excited about vegetables this fall, expert says

Come fall and winter, roasting can be a great way to make a delicious vegetable dish, especially ones you can snack on like Melty Mexican Cauliflower. (Eva Kolenko via CNN Newsource)

When you think of a meal, are vegetables the forgettable side character or the villain?

What if they could be the star of the show?

“Eat more vegetables,” doctors and dietitians say over and over. But for many people, it’s hard to do, because they aren’t excited about veggies or just don’t like them.

A lot of people’s first experience with vegetables in childhood is having them steamed, and while steaming works well for some veggies, they don’t all taste their best that way, said Caroline Chambers, author of the new cookbook “What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking.”

Learning to love vegetables might mean expanding your understanding of the possibilities when it comes to cooking them, she added.

And though you might want to stick with your one favorite vegetable all year round, plants really do taste better — and can be more fun — when eaten in their right season, said Chambers, who is based in Carmel Valley, Calif.

Fortunately, Chambers specializes in making food fun and exciting without much fuss. She started her career as a caterer, then became a recipe developer. Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit and people were stuck at home, she started posting recipes online that are easy to make with what you already have.

And making vegetables the part of the meal you are excited about doesn’t take much work, she said.

With a full harvest of colder-month produce in the grocery store, here is how you can fall in love with vegetables.

How you cook those vegetables

If you think the plants on your plate are a “have to have” dish and not a “want to have” one, it might be because you aren’t cooking them right, Chambers said.

“I think vegetables have more flavor than meat in many cases when they’re just prepared properly,” she added.

In the fall and winter, roasting is one of the best methods of getting a great vegetable dish, said Chambers, who shares recipes on Instagram and hosts the podcast “So Into That.”

“Summer vegetables are delicious raw. Corn, green beans, tomatoes –– all of those things are delicious, either raw or with like three minutes of cooking,” she said (the same is not true, she noted, for brussels sprouts, butternut squash and sweet potatoes).

“To get those things to taste really delicious, you have to roast them at a really high temperature for longer than you think,” she added.

When roasting veggies, the trick is to keep your oven between about 400 to 425 F (205 to 218 C) for about 35 to 40 minutes and even longer for squash, Chambers said.

Roasting at higher temperatures helps you get the right texture, taking out the sulfur taste from brussels sprouts and giving squash a sweet caramelization, Chambers said.

“I don’t want any roasting to happen in the 300 F (150 C) range. I want 400 F and above for 35 bare minimum minutes, probably closer to 450 F (232 C),” she added.

What you are looking for

How do you know when you have it right? Texture can be a good indicator.

The crispy outside is nice, but it is important to pair that with a tender inside when it comes to these winter vegetables, Chambers said.

“That’s where the high heat comes into play,” she said. “Having them up above 400 F helps the exterior get a little bit crispy, so that contact with the sheet pan will get the exterior of the brussels sprouts nice and crispy, while the inside is like tender and melts in your mouth.”

You can turn your vegetables to get them to cook evenly, but Chambers finds she often doesn’t need to do so. Instead, she lets the side touching the pan get extra crispy.

Toward the end of roasting, she likes to keep the oven light on and check in frequently, she said.

“Once the edges start to get golden brown, they’ll go from golden brown to black very quickly,” she added.

Spice it up

After you have your vegetables cooked just right, make them the star of the show with some flavor.

It doesn’t have to be much work, Chambers said. A little olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic go a long way — or use store-bought sauces to make your weeknight evenings easy and exciting.

A green goddess dressing — which typically contains ingredients such as a cream, herb mix and lemon ­­— or premade pesto can add brightness to a variety of dishes, she said.

Harissa paste is easy to find in most grocery stores and has flavors such as garlic, lemon, olive oil and chili already in it, she added.

“You’re getting this cheater shortcut ingredient and not having to do all of that yourself,” Chambers said. “Just lean into the easy store-bought super flavorful things and serve it with that.”

Harissa Roasted Veggies

Makes four servings

Ingredients

● 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas

● 1 pound medium carrots

● 1 large red onion

● 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

● 2 tablespoons harissa plus more for serving

● 2 teaspoons honey

● 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more

● 1 (8-ounce) block feta cheese

● ½ cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt

● Zest and juice from ½ lemon

● Handful of fresh soft herbs, such as parsley, dill, cilantro, basil or a mix

● Handful of toasted nuts, or ¼ cup toasted seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Dump the chickpeas into a colander. Drain them but do not rinse.

3. Arrange a few layers of paper towels on a rimmed baking sheet, then pour the drained chickpeas on top. Use another paper towel to pat them dry. Discard all the paper towels, then shake the chickpeas into an even layer. There will be some chickpea skins on the baking sheet now — no need to pick them out. They’ll roast up into crispy little bits and be delicious.

4. Cut the carrots on the diagonal into ½-inch-thick slabs and thinly slice the onion. Add the carrots, onion, olive oil, harissa, honey and 1 teaspoon salt to the chickpeas and toss to coat well.

5. Roast until the carrots are golden on the outside but fork-tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, in a blender or food processer, combine the feta and yogurt. Zest and juice the lemon into the blender and add a pinch of salt. Blend on high speed until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed, 30 to 45 seconds. If it’s too thick and your blender is having a hard time mixing, add a bit of water, a splash at a time, until the desired consistency is achieved.

7. Chop the herbs and nuts.

8. Remove the roasted veggies from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Taste the veggies and add more salt as needed. Stir in the herbs.

9. Spread a nice spoonful of whipped feta over the bottom of a bowl or plate and top it with a pile of roasted veggies and a sprinkle of nuts. Add another dollop of harissa on top if you love spice.

Shortcut: Skip the whipped feta and just crumble some feta on top. Find pre-chopped butternut squash or sweet potatoes at the grocery store and use them instead of carrots.

Pesto alternative: Omit the harissa and honey, and instead toss a big spoonful of store-bought pesto into the veggies after they have roasted. Serve with burrata instead of whipped feta.

Editor's note: Adapted from “What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking” by Caroline Chambers. Published by Union Square & Co.