Baking/Roasting

Baking/roasting is a cooking method in which dry heat is applied evenly in an oven. Baking and roasting is an excellent technique for tougher cuts of meat and thicker, fibrous vegetables such as root vegetables.

Baking hints and tips:

Use an appropriate temperature. Check your recipe or similar recipes to what you want to bake/roast to make sure the temperature is appropriate. Sturdy vegetables like carrots, broccoli or cauliflower, and potatoes often cook low and slow and are coated with some form of fat (olive oil, vegetable oil, butter) to keep in moisture. Thicker root vegetables will often roast at about 375 - 400°F for 30 – 60 minutes or until fork tender.
Double check the timing, especially for delicate items like kale and fruits. A quick visual inspection can be a good guide, as the outside of the product starts to brown, check the doneness of the inside with a fork test.
To avoid drying out your veggies a protective layer of butter or oil can slow the loss of moisture as well as providing flavor and additional browning.

Vegetables and fruits that are delicious baked/roasted:

Apples
Asian Pears
Asparagus
Beets
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Corn
Eggplant
Fennel
Figs
Garlic
Kale
Kohlrabi
Mushrooms
Onions
Peaches
Pecans
Peppers
Potatoes
Radishes
Summer Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Winter Squash
Tomatoes
Turnips

Meats available at market that are delicious roasted:

Beef

Chicken

Pork

Lamb

There are many cooking techniques for meats and PRFM suggests these cookbooks for regionally available items and recipes, some available through the Cathedral of St. Philip Bookstore:

Bon Appetit, Y'all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking by Virginia Willis

New Southern Garden Cookbook: Enjoying the Best from Homegrown Gardens, Farmers' Markets, Roadside Stands, & CSA Farm Boxes by Sheri Castle

New Turn in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen by Hugh Acheson

Summerland: Recipes for Celebrating with Southern Hospitality by Anne Quattrano

Root to Leaf: A Southern Chef Cooks Through the Seasons by Steven Satterfield

Your farmer is always a great source of information on how best to cook your market goodies or check out our recipes page!