I had thought that L.'s dad was staying until Thursday morning and had not made plans for Wednesday dinner. I was therefore a little taken aback at the expectation that it was going to magically appear. A quick review of the fridge showed an abundance of vegetables to be roasted, and also yielded a teen who was rather verbal about his weariness with all things both roasted and root.
Still, I have found that L., having both had a Japanese nanny as a baby and then lived in Tokyo during his formative years, would eat a shoe sole if it were doused in either miso or soy. I therefore decided to go that route and these were really easy and good. I served them with tilapia with ginger because that is what I had in the freezer but this would be an amazing side dish with pork chops.
Use whatever vegetables you have in the hydrator and keep the dish interesting by cutting them into different shapes and sizes (which will be prettier visually and add texture to the mouth feel). I used an assortment of colored carrots, some left over Brussels sprouts, a few parsnips and - a true revelation - a package of scallions. These made the house smell amazing and shriveled down into delicious streamers of gustatory yumminess.
6 cups assorted vegetables
3 Tbsps red miso
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tsps soy sauce
2 tsps mirin
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp sesame oil
Preheat the oven to 400. Line a baking tray with foil.
Prep your vegetables and lay them in one layer on the foil lined tin.
Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. Shake the baking tin vigorously after 20 minutes to redisperse the veggies, which will allow different edges to char and crisp up. Check the vegetables doneness after 30 minutes; a fork stuck into the thickest part of the thickest vegetable will be a good indicator of that. And you may end up removing a whole variety of vegetables from the pan at 30 minutes and leaving others until 40.
While the vegetables are roasting, whisk all the other ingredients together in a large, flat container and set aside.
As soon as the vegetables come out of the oven, place them in the container with the sauce, and baste them with it while they are still hot so that they absorb as much of it as they can and end up with a nice glossy miso finish.
I felt that the soy and miso contributed enough salt to this dish but you may feel differently. A spritz of lemon juice could also be a nice final touch and add a bit of brightness to this dish.
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