Roasted Winter Vegetables with Balsamic Dressing

Winter's offering of color and flavor...

Natural sugars in the brussel sprouts, parsnips, onions, and beets caramelize to create beautiful flavor.

The balsamic dressing adds a little kick.

Enjoy this!

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Parsnips:  YUM. 

Cousins to carrots.

Delicious flavor.

They are in most grocery stores...

you may have to ask for help to find them.

Peel.

Cut in half lengthwise, then chop into 1-inch wide pieces.

Brussel sprouts.

Lop off the end,

then slice in half.

Beets!

I hated them for 32 years.

Now I adore them.

Who knew?

 Chop off the greenery and peel.

Gorgeous!

I'd like a sweater in this color, please!

Slice the beets into eighths. 

Then cut each slice in half.

(I didn't realize that second step should be done until they were baking...

hence the unhalved beets in the following pictures...)

Then slice an onion in half and quarter it...

To make the balsamic dressing...

Mix together 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

with one teaspoon Dijon mustard...

 Add some olive oil.

And a lot of spices...

Garlic powder.

Ground ginger.

Dried rosemary.

Dried thyme.

The indention in the palm of your hand holds about 1/2 a teaspoon.
Get all crazy and leave the measuring spoon in the drawer...

Whisk it together.

And add some black pepper.

Get your veggies.

And mix them with the dressing.

You can roast them on a baking sheet or in a dish.

I chose a dish 'cause it's prettier.

And I cut some parchment paper for the bottom
to save myself the scrubbing later.

And of course I had to add some salt...

1/2 a teaspoon...

Pour the coated vegetables into the baking dish...

Bake at 400 for 40-50 minutes.

Stir every 10 minutes or so.

Test the biggest pieces toward the end of the roasting time.

You're aiming for tender but not mushy...

I added a pinch of salt once the veggies were plated.

Delishious-ness!

Roasted Winter Vegetables with Balsamic Dressing
Serves 4

Vegetables
6 brussel sprouts, halved
4 parsnips, halved, then sliced
1 beet, cut into eighths, then halved
1/2 medium onion, quartered

Balsamic Dressing
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

additional 1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (optional garnish)

To make the dressing:

In a large bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar and the mustard.  Add all spices and whisk.  (This can be prepared up to two days in advance and refrigerated.) 

Chop vegetables as indicated. 

Combine the dressing and the vegetables.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet or dish with parchment paper.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  Taste test the vegetables for doneness during the last 15 minutes of baking.  They should be tender but not mushy.

Garnish with chopped parsley.

Winter Roasted Vegetables With Balsamic Dressing