How to Roast Vegetables with
Lisa Jervis

Published on Wednesday, February 17, 2010, by Leslie Jonath, Eric Slatkin, and Blake Smith / Edit Post

Lisa Jervis, cofounder of Bitch magazine and author of Cook Food: A Manualfesto for Easy, Healthy, Local Eating, has a particular bias against mushy, flavorless vegetables that are more steamed than roasted. To get that roasty, toasty flavor and texture, be sure to cut the veggies evenly, spread them out in the pan, and oil and season them generously. Plus, Jervis says, anything lower than 500 degrees Fahrenheit is baking, not roasting.

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  • I agree with everything she said but instead of mixing the veggie piles with oil, salt & pepper on the pan, I'd do each group in a bowl.

    And sulsisels, there is nothing wrong with those pans. They're seasoned, not dirty. I invite you to visit a commercial kitchen sometime.

  • Wow, some really critical commenters on here. I was doing all the things wrong that she mentioned and SO appreciated this video. I followed her advice to the letter and had the best roasted vegetables you can do in the house! (My favorite is still veggies done on the grill outside in the summer). The whole family gobbled them up. Warning though....don't walk away. At 500 degrees, they cook FAST....+READ

    Wow, some really critical commenters on here. I was doing all the things wrong that she mentioned and SO appreciated this video. I followed her advice to the letter and had the best roasted vegetables you can do in the house! (My favorite is still veggies done on the grill outside in the summer). The whole family gobbled them up. Warning though....don't walk away. At 500 degrees, they cook FAST. 10-12 minutes and they are perfect with crisp brown bits. YUM.-COLLAPSE

  • New York Food Coach: Two words I live by: Cast Iron. Anything from roasting vegetables in the oven to a steak on top of the stove.

  • Olive oil burns if you do it too high.

  • Wait....How long do you roast the vegetables?

  • I think she is wrong about baking vs. roasting; there's a good discussion of this in 'Making of a Chef...' by Michael Ruhlman; shows up in Google books if you search for "roasting baking ruhlman". There are plenty of other sources that agree if you do a quick online search. Baking vs. roasting is mostly a semantic difference these days (good to note also that roasting can also happen on the...+READ

    I think she is wrong about baking vs. roasting; there's a good discussion of this in 'Making of a Chef...' by Michael Ruhlman; shows up in Google books if you search for "roasting baking ruhlman". There are plenty of other sources that agree if you do a quick online search. Baking vs. roasting is mostly a semantic difference these days (good to note also that roasting can also happen on the stovetop).

    Personally, I think 500 F is often a little too high, even if you want to get that browning. I usually do somewhere around 450 F with good results.-COLLAPSE

  • I think the syntax of the title of this video is a bit off-putting: "How to Roast Vegetables with Lisa Jervis." I'm afraid to watch...at what point is Lisa Jervis added to the roasting vegetables? lol

  • Why did she spend half the video tell us what is wrong... Start out with what is right! Touch on wrong after that.

  • I guess it depends on your oven. I use 375F with convection and I still have to worry about them being burnt

    Otherwise, not crowding your pan and cut them into appropriate sizes are good advices. Do experiments with your own oven!!

  • I set out to prove that "anything less than 500 degrees is baking" nonsense wrong by googling for roast chicken. It turns out that many people do cook it this high. But I can safely say, my chicken goes in at gas mark 7 (425 F) and it definitely looks better than this:
    http://thepauperedchef.com/2006/06/kafkas_simple_r.html

  • I roasted some zucchini with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then garnished it with fresh basil. It was delicious.

  • I like a glass pan, but I read that you should always go 25 degrees less if using glass. On a metal pan (lined with parchment) I roast at 425 just fine, mine usually look even better than hers! I wouldn't feel comfortable walking away from them if they were on 500. A little paprika is nice to root veg.

  • Maybe we were roasting our veggies wrong, but she is washing her pans wrong..Yuck..I can't believe she made a video with those nasty pans..

  • I love roasted veggies, especially in the winter. I have been roasting at about 425-450, cut evenly, spread on a pan tossed with olive oil. I will now increase the temperature - thanks!
    http://coldcerealandtoast.wordpress.com

  • Wow, thanks! I love roasted veggies but didn't realize the oven should be so hot. Still gonna use a glass pan, though. :)

  • Thanks for the video! Never knew there are certain ways to cut the veggies. I just dump them all together. No wonder it never cooks well.