Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

Roasting vegetables is one of my go-to methods for weeknight meals, as I’m sure it is for many home cooks. A little peeling and a little chopping — then I’m free to move about the kitchen to finish up the rest of dinner. Roasting potatoes and carrots together is an especially convenient combination, as I get both a starch and a vegetable side all on one sheet pan and they’re a perfect canvas for different spice combinations.

The ideal temperature for roasted vegetables can vary on the type you’re using, but 425°F works best when cooking potatoes and carrots together. The high temperature gets the potatoes browned and crispy, and it allows the natural sugars in the carrots to caramelize without burning.

Roasted potatoes and carrots are perfectly lovely with just olive oil and salt, but I love seasoning them with a blend of spices borrowed from one of my favorite potato preparations: barbecue chips! The warm spices work well on both the creamy potatoes and sweet carrots. Adding the spices after the vegetables have cooked partway through gives them time to get toasty and flavorful before they burn.

The trickiest part of this dish is getting the potatoes and carrots to cook at the same time. Chopping round potatoes and skinny carrots into similar sizes seems tricky. The secret? Roll cutting your carrots — a technique we already love for zucchini. Here’s how to do it.

1. Peel the carrots.
2. Cut the end off at a 45-degree angle.
3. Turn the carrot a quarter turn and cut a one-inch length at a 45-degree angle.
4. Continue rolling and cutting the length of the carrot.

This method works particularly well for carrots that don’t taper too much at the tip. Using this cut means more surface area for browning and seasoning.