You probably already know that roasting winter vegetables turns them soft, caramelized and irresistible. But what you might not know is that tossing them with a three-ingredient dressing of miso paste, lime juice and walnut oil gives them a savory, bright and beguiling flavor that will make people wonder why the roasted vegetables you make are so much better than the roasted vegetables they make.
What makes a recipe a keeper? The recipes I make again and again are the ones that are greater than the sum of their parts, the ones that elevate humble ingredients into a dish simple enough for a weeknight dinner and tasty enough to serve to guests. Though it may look humble, this recipe is more special than just a plate of roasted vegetables -- it's the definition of "a keeper."
It's also incredibly flexible. Not only does the dressing taste good with roasted winter vegetables; it also elevates grilled vegetables in the summer and tastes great tossed with warm cooked grains like quinoa. Nothing about it screams miso or walnut. Instead, it just has a fresh, nutty, umami character that brings out the best in even the plainest ingredients. I consider it a secret weapon in the kitchen. Try it and see if you agree!
Roasted Winter Vegetables with Miso-Lime Dressing
Serves 4
8 ounces brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise
1 medium sweet potato (about 8 ounces), peeled, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium head of cauliflower (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons yellow miso paste
2 tablespoons walnut oil
Black pepper
Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange three baking racks, evenly spaced, in the oven. (If you only have two racks or two baking sheets, bake the vegetables in batches rather than crowd them onto two baking sheets.)
Place brussels sprouts, sweet potato and cauliflower on separate rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and toss to thoroughly coat. Bake, turning every 10-15 minutes, until browned and soft, about 15 minutes for the brussels sprouts and 25 minutes for the sweet potato and cauliflower.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the lime juice and miso paste until smooth. Slowly drizzle in the walnut oil, whisking constantly, until thoroughly combined.
Place the roasted vegetables in a large bowl, pour in the dressing and toss to coat. Season with black pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Additional Notes
• In the summer, try this recipe with grilled vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, even kale) instead of roasted.
• To turn this recipe into a main dish, double the dressing and use it to season cooked grains, such as quinoa, brown rice or barley. Mix dressed grains with the dressed vegetables.
Related: Tip: Roast Vegetables for a Week of Lunches
(Images: Anjali Prasertong)
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For those of us who have a number of different oils in the house, but not walnut oil, what would work as a good substitute here?
I was thinking the same thing. Maybe half sesame/olive oil and toss some chopped walnuts into the mix?
Another nut oil, such as hazelnut, would work. If you don't have that on hand, I'd be inclined to use a neutral flavored oil like grapeseed or canola. Olive oil or sesame oil would definitely change the character of the dressing, but not necessarily in a bad way -- I've just never tried it.
Walnut oil is so healthy and delicious that if you buy it for this recipe, you'll definitely find many other ways to use it.
I've been wanting to start experimenting with miso - looks like this is the time to do it!
Have you tried it with red miso? That's all I have in the house, but since I have a bottle of walnut oil, I'm tempted to try it.
This sounds tasty! I'd really like to try it, but have a question about the 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil, other than the walnut oil.. Why not use walnut oil for all 3 Tbsp of oil in the recipe? What other vegetable oil for that 1 Tbsp would you recommend? I've gotten so confused about which oils are healthy for you and which aren't.. and which ones you don't want to heat at high temperatures because they become unhealthy. I assume that 400 degrees would be considered high? Thanks!
@junjun: You can certainly use walnut oil to toss the vegetables before they are roasted. (My bottle of walnut oil says it can tolerate up to 400F.) But since the delicate flavor of walnut oil is lost when it is heated that high and since it is more expensive than other oils, I save it for dressings and other no-heat preparations. For roasting, I usually use grapeseed oil -- it can tolerate very high heat cooking and is virtually tasteless.
@delistyle: Try it and let us know how it turns out! I have not tried this recipe with other types of miso paste.
Thanks for the reply. Oh sorry I didn't read through the recipe thoroughly and thought you used the walnut oil for roasting.. I see you only use it after it's finished roasting. I'll have to get some oil and give it a try. How long will the walnut oil last in the refrigerator after it's opened? I suppose you can roast any vegetables (beets, kabocha squash, etc.) in this same way?
I have been lucky enough to have Anjali bring this dish over for a shared dinner party, we LICKED the plate clean. A must make!
This is ridiculously good. I couldn't find yellow miso, so just used white. I'm not sure if I'm missing out, but I don't care. Because this is delicious just the way I made it. Holy yum.
This was so good! I pulled out my walnut oil and it was bad (oops), so I used hazelnut oil and roasted Brussels sprouts and carrots. Big flavor boost with very little effort.
Oh, and I used mellow white miso, it's all I had.
Walnut oil is a keeper, for baking, for pancakes waffles and for dressings. It loves roasted brussels sprouts!
For miso newbies "yellow" and "white" usu refer to same (as compared to red or hatcha miso which is a heartier miso).
I'm intrigued by the combo with lime. Going to give it a whirl!
I tried this last night using what I had in the house. I roasted the vegetables in canola, used white sweet potatoes and made the dressing with red miso and sesame oil. It was delicious, a great recipe and you can play around with the ingredients.
This sounds amazing! I've been looking for an excuse to replenish my supply of walnut oil - bingo!
This was amazing... delicious... the lime-miso combo was fantastic... I only had red miso and hazelnut oil... and they worked great... will definitely use this recipe a LOT...
This recipe is fabulous. It's amazing how much flavor there is with just three ingredients in the dressing. Next time I think I'll add some chopped walnuts and perhaps a little bit of agave syrup to balance out the dressing.
Couldn't find limes or miso at the supermarket tonight (must be living on the moon...), so I made it with a balsamic-walnut oil-dijon dressing. Really, really tasty. Added quinoa as the recipe suggested, and can't wait to eat it for lunches this week!
I used organic flax seed oil in the dressing and some Dulse flakes instead of salt. Very yummy. Used olive oil for the veggies and added a yellow beet; so good with the dressing. I'll be making this again and thinking of using roasted asparagus with the dressing..