Roast vegetables in olive oil: how to get browned edges

Oven roasting is one of the best uses for olive oil in hot cooking. Oven temperatures sit comfortably within extra virgin's range, and the oil's flavour turns sweeter and rounder under dry heat.

The method

1. 1.Cut the vegetables to a similar size so they cook at the same rate
2. 2.Toss in a bowl, not on the tray — every piece needs coating
3. 3.Use enough oil to coat, not to submerge. One to two tablespoons for a tray
4. 4.Salt before roasting, not after
5. 5.Spread in a single layer with space between the pieces
6. 6.Roast at a moderately high temperature until the edges brown
7. 7.Pour a little raw olive oil over once it comes out

The most common mistake

An overcrowded tray. If the pieces touch, the steam coming off them is trapped, and the vegetables steam rather than roast. The result is soft and pale.

Use two trays if you need to. Space between the pieces is the difference between browned edges and wet vegetables.

What roasts well

• Potato and sweet potato — cut smaller than you think
• Carrots, cut lengthways
• Pumpkin and squash
• Broccoli and cauliflower — the browned edges are the best part
• Onions, cut into quarters
• Aubergine, which drinks oil — use a little more
• Cherry tomatoes, which burst and turn sweet

Why toss in a bowl

Pouring oil straight onto the tray looks easier, but it leaves pools in some places and dry pieces in others. Uncoated pieces will not brown; over-oiled ones go soggy.

Tossing in a bowl by hand takes thirty seconds and solves both.

The final pour

The oil roasted with the vegetables has lost most of its aroma to the heat — that is normal, and it has done its job. A teaspoon of raw oil poured over as the tray comes out puts that flavour back, and the difference is immediate.