Hey you, are you ready for a veggie party? It starts in your oven and ends spectacularly in your mouth. Because these roasted winter veggies will blow away your winter blues in no time at all. Add a simple homemade kale pesto and your taste buds will be dancing tango. Ready? On your apron, get set, go!
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January is not currently shining with a high fair weather rate. It’s gray and dreary… 💨 And all in all, it’s just a bit bland, isn’t it?
In terms of vegetables, the winter months are also not at the top of the charts. Just thinking about tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and eggplants warms the hearts of many of us. The current selection of vegetables often does not evoke such grandiose emotions. Because let’s be honest, winter vegetables don’t exactly shine with great sex appeal. And they are not necessarily very popular.
And twenty years ago, I would definitely have said straight to your face: “Who would voluntarily eat such weirdo vegetables?” Well, times change and so do tastes…
Because cabbage, turnips and the like are actually miraculous plants. Considering how they hide in the ground. and wait for it to get cold outside. I wouldn’t even survive a day under such conditions.
So let’s please put away our prejudices against the spurned stinky vegetables and give these baked vegetables a chance.
And you’re also doing yourself some good on the side. Winter vegetables are rich in healthy nutrients. Real little vitamin bombs. 🤭
I have one more thing: unlike summer vegetables, winter vegetables won’t hold it against you if you forget they are there. Most varieties have a long shelf life and can be stored for one or two weeks. And by the way, cabbage has nourished whole generations of our ancestors. There was nothing else in winter! So let’s give it a little love and respect with today’s recipe – even if it stinks.
It gets even better when we shed some light on the history of kale. For the Romans, it was considered a delicacy and a sign of prosperity. So we serve to Her Highness by processing it into a delicious kale pesto with walnuts. The classic pesto alla genovese can almost say goodbye!
I’ll tell you right away, today’s roasted winter vegetables don`t include potatoes. No, the starch buddies are staying in the background today. No, there are no sweet potatoes in the mixture either. Help, a vegan roasted vegetable recipe without these two classics, a no-go… You were just thinking that, weren’t you?
Sometimes we just have to leave our comfort zone and try something new. So no, there are no potatoes in this recipe! Ok, ok, you can sneak them in if you can’t help it…. I won’t tell anyone either. But I would highly recommend sticking to turnip and rutabaga instead.
I used the following ingredients for these roasted winter veggies: pumpkin, beet,turnip, rutabaga, celeriac and Brussels sprouts. Tactically, I deliberately chose the outsiders among the winter vegetables.
Bombastic taste and a colorful explosion of for your eyes. What more could you need in this gray weather? If the combination doesn’t suit you, you can of course also use other winter vegetables, e.g. Carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, potatoes, etc. You can also experiment with different spices if you like. Cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, chili – there are no limits to your creativity.
The kale pesto with walnuts is deliberately kept simple. Goal: The “queen of winter vegetables” should be given a chance to shine. My apartment can confirm this, it still smelled of the pesto all day long… Ok, that doesn’t speak in favor of the recipe 🫣. But believe me, it’s worth it – fragrance nonetheless!
The roasted walnuts also give the kale pesto a unique nutty-tart aroma.
PS: To the amateur botanists among you… I know, I know, the photo here doesn’t show kale, but its colleague lacinato kale. What can I say, palm kale just looks sexy! However, this is irrelevant for the final result.
Roasting the vegetables in the oven is simple and straightforward. However, I still have a few small tips in store. You can get really crispy baked vegetables from the tray if you give your vegetables enough space to breathe. Therefore, make sure that the vegetables are well distributed on the tray and are not close together. If in doubt, it’s better to use several baking trays instead of mashing everything on one, as I did for the photo 😂.
For an extra tanning kick, briefly place the vegetables under the oven grill at the end.
And a little food photography tip on the side; always prepare beet separately from other vegetables. The only child has a starry-eyed attitude and usually colors the other vegetables.
Hooray, now nothing stands in the way of your winter taste explosion. But perhaps you would like to know what you can serve with it? How about vegan vol-au-vent with mushroom filling or lentil roast?
Bon appétit!
*This blog post was created using KI to experiment & to get to know ChatGPT (AI) and was rewritten and reinterpreted by me. The recipe is mine, not KI generated.
Roasted Winter Veggies with Kale Pesto
Equipment
- 1 Food Cutter
- 1 spatula
- 2 mason jars, 100m each
- 1 peeler
- 2 big baking trays
- parchment paper
Ingredients
kale pesto
- 50 g walnuts
- 200 g kale*
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 lemon, juice
- 100 ml olive oil*
Roasted Winter Veggies*
- 200 g celeriac approx. 1/2 large celeriac
- 200 g brussels sprouts
- 200 g pumpkin approx. 1/2 small hokkaido
- 200 g rutabaga approx. 1 small rutabaga
- 100 g beet, uncooked approx. 1 small beet
- 100 g turnip approx. 1 small turnip
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp olive oil extra for the beet
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Kale Pesto
- Toast the walnuts in a frying pan over medium heat until they start to smell. Set aside and leave to cool.
- Wash the kale thoroughly under running water and pat dry.
- Tear the kale leaves off the stalks. If you like, you can chop them coarsely for better mincing. Place the kale leaves in a food cutter.
- Peel the garlic clove. Add the garlic, walnuts, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and salt to the kale in the cutter. Chop everything until the kale is finely chopped. Don’t mix too much, it should still be a little chunky.
- Add half to 2/3 of the olive oil. And mix everything well. Personally, I like a pesto that still has small pieces and is not too pureed. If you like it very fine, puree again. in the food cutter.*
- Pour the pesto into jars and pour in more olive oil until the top of the pesto is covered with oil.
Roasted Winter Veggies
- Preheat the oven to 220° Celsius top and bottom heat.
- Wash all the vegetables under running water and then pat dry well.
- Peel the celeriac, rutabaga and turnip. Cut off the stalk of the brussels sprouts and remove the first leaves if necessary.
- Cut all vegetables – except beet – into bite-sized pieces. The brussels sprouts can simply be halved. Peel and chop the beet at the end and do not mix with the other vegetables.
- Place the chopped vegetables in a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Make sure that all the vegetables are evenly covered. In a separate bowl, mix the beet with the oil and a little salt.
- Line two baking trays with baking paper and spread the vegetables on the trays with enough space between them. There should be enough space between the individual pieces and they should not touch each other. Place the beet in a separate section on the tray.
- Roast the winter vegetables in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes at 220° Celsius. Turn the vegetables halfway through the baking time. If you like, you can put the vegetables under the grill in the oven for 2-3 minutes. But make sure that nothing burns.
