Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Tamarind Roasted Vegetables

What's the point if you never try anything new? Seriously, if variety is truly the spice of life, why do we relegate ourselves to eating the same things and cooking with the same ingredients? I suppose it's habit and comfort with the familiar, but if you can't break out of your box on the plate, where can you? Honestly the worst that could happen would be that you don't like it. There... I've convinced you, so let's try something new.

I'm a roasted vegetable lover and it's becoming the time of year when I'll roast off all kinds of veggie goodies on a Sunday to include in salads throughout the week. Knowing I'm a veggie lover, my Stepmother passed along a recipe from her neighbor for a new twist on roasted veg punched up with tamarind paste.



Tamarind paste was certainly not an ingredient I was familiar with, but now I'm obsessed. It has a distinct tang that really brightens up the natural flavors of vegetable. I combined with another new ingredient in my repetoire -- coconut oil -- for a flavor-packed approach. The results are a Indian-tinged melange that is a great side or salad topper. For other recipes, I've been throwing a bit of it into stir frys... yum.


It's a simple prep... just chopping and tossing around with clean hands. Then into a very hot oven to develop some flavor. 


Move it around a few times during the roast and scrape the bottom good stuff. That's how you get that gorgeous color.



Tamarind Roasted Vegetables
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
3/4 lb brussel sprouts, halved
1 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
One inch piece ginger, grated
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon curry
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons tamarind paste
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a large sheet pan with foil or Silpat. Toss peppers, onion, spouts and chickpeas with garlic, cilantro, ginger, coriander, curry, salt, pepper, tamarind paste, coconut oil and brown sugar. Arrange in one layer and place in the oven. 

Roast for 30-40 minutes, until color starts to develop on sprouts, but they are still somewhat firm. Toss twice during roasting. Cool for a few minutes before serving warm. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Let's chat! Add your comment here. Note, there may be a delay in posting for comment moderation.