Baked vegetables with sesame

The long string of winter holidays has finally come to an end and we’re more and more looking to something light and easily digestible, yet still delicious, to unload our stomachs. This recipe is just perfect for this purpose: potatoes, carrots, and Brussel sprouts baked gradually, step by step, to ideal texture, and sprinkled with sesame seeds and lemon zest for freshness, are perfectly light, dietetic, and truly delectable dish that can serve as a side dish for any meat or fish, or just be eaten alone as the main dish. And don’t you doubt about adding carrots – lots of people, me including, hate baked or boiled carrots, but not in this recipe! Added a bit later than potatoes and cooked for exactly the indicated time, it gets the ideal texture being moderately soft with the appetizing smell of fresh carrots. And seasoned with crunchy sesame seeds, even children wouldn’t resist stuffing these vegetables in their mouths!

You’ll need:
5 potatoes, peeled, roughly chopped
2 big carrots, peeled, chopped
400 g Brussel sprouts, remove top leaves
50 ml oil
3 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder (optional)
1 lemon zest
Salt to taste

Preparation:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 200oC.
  2. Put the potatoes in a big pot, cover them with water, bring them to a boil, and drain them.
  3. Put hot potatoes in a baking dish and sprinkle them with garlic and onion powder. Salt them to taste and sprinkle with half of oil. Mix thoroughly. Bake for 20-25 min until potatoes begin to brown.
  4. Add carrots, sprinkle them with ¼ of oil, mix once more and bake for 10 min more.
  5. Add Brussel sprouts sprinkling them with the rest of oil and adding salt, and bake them for 5-7 min more.
  6. Meanwhile, slightly brown sesame seeds in a dry pan.
  7. Take the vegetables out of the oven, sprinkle them with sesame seeds and lemon zest, and serve immediately!

Bon appetite!

P. S. Try adding soy sauce as well to give a slightly Asian hint to the dish.