Roasted Winter Vegetables with Miso Dressing and Toasted Sesame Seeds

(Carrots, Butternut Squash, Parsnips and Broccoli)

If you didn't try this recipe when I originally posted it back in 2013, you might want to try it as part of Japan month, as we did.

I made it last week when we had a friend over for a weeknight dinner.  We served the veggies with teriyaki chicken and rice with black sesame seeds.

Here's the original post from February, 2013:

I saw this recipe in The Meat Free Monday Cookbook. It is becoming one of my favorite cookbooks due to recipes like this.  They also have a website called meatfreemondays.com.

This dressing is a keeper!  The miso in the dressing when combined with toasted sesame seeds turns everyday winter vegetables into something special.  The Japanese say miso --soybean paste-- gives the dish unami.    Took us a while to find miso paste in the grocery store.  It was in the refrigerated section of the organic section.  It is worth hunting down to make this dressing.


Roasted Veggies with Miso Dressing with Sesame Seeds
( from The Meat Free Monday Cookbook, pg.  194)

3 medium carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into wedges (I bought a tub of pre-cut)
3 small-medium parsnips, peeled and halved(quartered if they are large)
2 T. olive oil
3 cups of broccoli, trimmed
2 T. honey
1 T. mixed black and white sesame seeds (I used toasted white sesame seeds)

This is what red miso looks like. 

For the Dressing:
3 T. toasted sesame oil
2 t. freshly grated ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 heaping teaspoon yellow miso paste (I used red)
1 T. rice wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Parsnips look like white carrots.

Prepare the vegetables.  Then, rub them all over with the olive oil so that all sides are lightly coated to optimize roasting.

Arrange them in a single layer in a roasting pan.  Then roast for 25 minutes or until done.  (Ours took 10 minutes longer.)  (I stirred them up, too.)

Add the broccoli and continue to roast for 5 more minutes.  (Ours took 10 minutes.) 

Stir if needed, then drizzle with 1 T. honey and sesame seeds and roast about 5- 10 minutes more until veggies caramelize (i.e., turn brown around the edges.)

While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the dressing.  Spoon the remaining honey into a bowl, add the other dressing ingredients and whisk thoroughly.

Lightly coat the hot veggies with the dressing and serve.

We roasted small pieces of chicken at the same time, brushing them with store-bought Asian BBQ sauce 2/3 of the way through.

Delicious!

B