Another way with root vegetables from Anna Jones,
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of carrots with tops
- 1 bunch of beetroots with tops
- 1 small butternut squash
- 100 g whole black olives in oil
- 2 tbsp baby capers in brine
- 1 unwaxed lemon
- 1 whole garlic bulb
- a chunk hard white cheese (whatever you have in your fridge)
- extra virgin olive oil
Servings:
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Separate the tops from the carrots and beetroots, wash and put to one side for later. You need to wash the vegetables really well – the carrots and beetroots will need a good scrub, as you’re not going to peel them.
- Slice each beetroot into quarters, or halves if they are small, and the carrots in half lengthways, or quarters if they are really big.
- Cut the butternut squash in half lengthways and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds (set aside to use later). Slice the squash into 1cm-thick, cresent‑shaped wedges.
- Tip all the vegetables into a large baking tray and drizzle with a good glug of the oil from the olive jar. Drizzle about 2 tbsp of the caper brine over the vegetables – this will be your salt – then add the olives and capers and give everything a good mix.
- Grate over the zest of the lemon, then cut it in half and add to the tray along with the whole bulb of garlic. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked through and golden edged.
- Meanwhile, wash the squash seeds under cold running water to get rid of any fibrous bits. Coat with a little more oil from the olives, then roast in the oven for 10 minutes, or until you can hear them start to pop and they look a shade darker.
- Once the vegetables are cooked, remove the tray from the oven, carefully spoon out the lemon and garlic, and put the vegetables back in the oven to keep warm.
- To make the pesto, squeeze the roasted garlic out of its papery skin into the bowl of a food processor. Add the roasted pumpkin seeds, whole roasted lemon and grated cheese, if you’re using it, then blitz to a coarse paste.
- Add the carrot and beetroot tops and some olive oil (use up the oil from the olive jar, then add a little more if you need, or just add a splash of water). Pulse until you have a chunky pesto. Season with a little caper brine.
- Serve the roast vegetables with the pesto alongside for spooning. Freeze leftover pesto in freezer bag, or keep it in a jar in the fridge, covered with a thin layer of olive oil, where it will keep for up to a week.
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