What’s more basic, delicious and healthy than a piping hot pan of roasted vegetables? This is a remarkably simple recipe that I came up with out of a desire to make as many varied healthy veggies as possible in the lowest-maintenance way, and it worked like a charm.

We all ate lots and lots (and lots) of this the moment the dish was done, and leftover they taste even better.

And I’ve got to say — it’s so exciting to see my son gobble up chard and broccoli and cauliflower and ask for more and more and more (which is something along the lines of “cahwie [very, very long pause] fowl”). He really loves most veggies and has all along, but while we’re sorting out what he can’t eat, we’re eating more of what he can eat — meaning most veggies, and he tends to go for the healthier ones at that.

Here’s what you need:

1/2 lb. of baby carrots, chopped into smaller pieces
2 medium zucchini, diced in 1″ pieces
1-2 bunches Swiss chard, rinsed well and cut into thin ribbons
2-3 medium yellow potatoes
1 head of cauliflower, washed and cut into florets1 lb. brussels sprouts
1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
1 medium onion, chopped coarsely (optional — we did not include)
Black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degreees F. Oil a large (13″ x 9″ or larger) glass baking pan. Place all prepared vegetables in a large mixing bowl. Add in balsamic vinegar and 1/3 c. water. Stir well. Place in baking pan and cover with aluminum foil, making sure that foil doesn’t come into contact with the vegetables. (Acid and aluminum aren’t a good mix; the acid breaks down aluminum.) Bake for 45-60 minutes, checking after first 30 minutes and stirring to recoat all vegetables with balsamic mixture. Uncover after first 30 minutes and continue to bake until potatoes are soft.

Serves 2-3

Healthy eating notes:

In case there is not enough balsamic/water mixture to coat all vegetables, simply make another 1/4 c. balsamic and 1/4 c. water mixture. Most of the liquid should cook out, so the recipe is pretty forgiving.

Another delicious addition would be 1 clove of fresh garlic, minced and added to balsamic mixture.

The Swiss chard initially takes up an immense amount of space, but cooks down dramatically. I placed a large amount of Swiss chard that I could not even fit into my largest mixing bowl into the bottom of the baking dish, coated with some of the balsamic mixture and then added all the rest of the vegetables. In the end, the Swiss chard is a subtle, almost flavorless yet very nutritious addition to the vegetables. You could also use fresh spinach or kale if desired, though both would change the personality of the recipe due to their stronger flavors.

Baking vegetables can take longer or shorter amounts of time depending on your oven. If after 30 minutes the dish is nowhere near done, you might want to recover with foil for another 20 minutes or so and then remove foil to allow balsamic mixture to reduce slightly.

As always, there is no salt added to this recipe because we get enough sodium from whole foods, but you can add some salt to taste (if you must). ;)

Copyright 2009 Jennifer McCay

www.LeanGreenMama.com