Rootin' Tootin' Roasted Roots - Roasted Root Vegetables in Paper

An easy to throw together recipe that I made to accompany several meals over the Festive period this year. The trick for these roasted roots is to cook them en papillote (in a paper parcel) for the first 30 minutes - almost oven steaming them, before opening up the paper and allowing them to brown and go crunchy and crispy around the edges! Sprinkle them with sea salt, cayenne pepper and freshly ground black pepper before serving them in the paper on a flat plate. You can also make smaller individual parcels for full dining impact!! Use whatever root vegetables you have to hand. The vegetables listed in this recipe are the ones that I used for the last few times of cooking this dish, but I can see possibilities of many more veggies, especially when they are in season. You can reduce the fat content in this recipe by adding just a teaspoon of olive oil and putting the vegetables in a zip-lock bag with the oil, then give it all a good shake, I went FULL fat throughout Christmas and the New Year period! However, I think now the diet is back on the agenda, I will roast these the low fat way!

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 4  large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 6  large potatoes, washed but with skin on, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2  large onions, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 4 -6  garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
• 2  large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch
• 2  large parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
•  fresh thyme
•  olive oil
•  sea salt
•  fresh ground black pepper
•  cayenne pepper
•  greasproof baking  paper or  parchment paper

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 220C/450F/Gas mark 7.
2. Cut a large piece of baking parchment, greaseproof paper or baking paper to size - it should fit the roasting tray with enough paper to bring the sides up to form a parcel.
3. Place all the prepared vegetables into a large mixing bowl and add olive oil to personal taste; I used about 2 tablespoons for my vegetables over the Christmas period.) Mix the vegetables well, making sure that they are all coated in olive oil. Season to taste, remembering that it is nice to sprinkle extra seasonings on before serving. Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme.
4. Place all the vegetables into the prepared paper parcel in the roasting tray, and spread them out so that they are more or less even. Bring the sides of the paper up and scrunch it up in the middle to form a big paper parcel!
5. Place the vegetables in the pre-heated oven and cook for 30 minutes.
6. After 30 minutes has elapsed - carefully take the vegetables out and open up the paper parcel to allow the vegetables to crisp up and go brown and crunchy - give them a gentle stir and place them back into the oven. Turn the heat up to 250C/495F/Gas Mark 8 and allow them to continue roasting for a further 15 to 20 minutes, or until soft, crispy and golden brown with some charred edges.
7. Place them on a large serving platter in the paper if you wish or place them into a large serving dish - sprinkle with more seasonings and garnish with fresh thyme.
8. Smaller parcels of root vegetables can be cooked, but you will need to reduce the cooking times by about 10 to 15 minutes.