Throughout college I spent my summers working at YMCA residential summer camps. While working at Camp Cosby, we would have snacks for the staff who had a little time off in the evenings. Leftover desserts from dinner, potato chips, I even learned to love cheesy toast (literally just sandwich bread with a slice of cheese on it, toasted up in the oven). Since my specialty in the kitchen was baking, I made a blackberry cobbler one evening – made from fresh blackberries we had picked that week. It was such a treat to have a made from scratch dessert but it wasn’t the most impressive snack we had that summer. There were two staff members from New Orleans who whipped up some fried chicken for us like it was no big deal. I watched them gathering spices and I was amazed by how they knew exactly what they needed and/or knew which spices would go well together. I had never seen someone my own age put a dish together like that without a recipe. Not only that, it was some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever had.
Fast forward 15+ years and I’ve become more confident in exploring spices and using my pantry to the best of my ability. I love roasting vegetables but I’ve been needing to get out of a flavor rut with them. I’ve been wanting to try and incorporate turmeric so I just went for it, adding some additional spices and a little bit of honey. Guys, I shamelessly ate the ENTIRE pan of vegetables!!! Sure, these experiments don’t always turn out on a first go or even a fifth go but when they do it totally makes up for the frustrating moments that can happen in the kitchen. I hope you are encouraged by this recipe to explore your pantry or spice rack and try something new.
SWEET TURMERIC ROASTED VEGETABLES
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2" slices
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place cauliflower and carrots in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Stir until vegetables are evenly coated with oil.
- In a small bowl, mix turmeric, cinnamon, coriander and black pepper. Add spices to vegetables and stir until evenly coated. Spread vegetable mixture onto a sheet pan and roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until vegetables are for tender, stirring halfway through cooking.
- Drizzle vegetables with honey and sprinkle with sesame seeds.