Blog & Recipes

Garden Vegetable Medley

Capsicum, mushrooms, fennel and cherry tomatoes, roasted hot and fast with herbs until the edges catch.

Calories per portion, approximate
about 190 calories
Time
35 mins
Portion
4 persons
Garden Vegetable Medley

A tray of roasted vegetables is only as good as its heat and its spacing. Roast hot, spread everything in a single layer, and the edges caramelise; crowd the tray and the vegetables steam and go grey. This version uses colourful capsicum, mushrooms and fennel, with tomatoes added late so they burst without collapsing.

Ingredients

Serves 4

  • 3 capsicums in mixed colours, cut into thick strips
  • 250 g button mushrooms, halved
  • 1 fennel bulb, cut into wedges about 2 cm thick
  • 150 g baby corn
  • 250 g cherry tomatoes
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, left in their skins and lightly crushed
  • 4 sprigs of thyme or rosemary
  • Salt, black pepper, and a squeeze of lemon to finish

Method

  1. 1

    Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan) and put a large, heavy baking tray inside to heat up.

  2. 2

    Cut the capsicum, mushrooms and fennel to roughly similar sizes so they cook at the same pace. Leave the baby corn and cherry tomatoes whole.

  3. 3

    In a large bowl, toss everything except the tomatoes with the olive oil, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper.

  4. 4

    Carefully tip the vegetables onto the hot tray and spread them out in a single layer with space between the pieces. Use two trays if you need to.

  5. 5

    Roast for 20 minutes, turning once. Add the tomatoes and roast for another 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are browned and the tomatoes have just burst.

  6. 6

    Squeeze over a little lemon, taste for salt, and serve hot, straight from the tray.

Tips for the best result

  • Heating the tray first gives the vegetables a head start on browning the moment they land on it.
  • Fennel turns sweet and soft when roasted, and the mild aniseed flavour is a good match for capsicum.
  • Leftovers are good cold the next day, folded into a salad or piled onto toast.