Roasted Vegetables with Polenta

I made this this weekend to go with the marinara sauce and pasta I was making for my daughter's Birthday Weekend Extravaganza.  It was really easy and turned out delicious.  My inspiration was from a recent recipe I read from Cook's Illustrated, Oven Dried Tomatoes.  I didn't dry the vegetables out, but I liked the idea of starting out with no added oil or moisture.  My natural inclination every time I start to roast something in the oven is to drizzle oil and salt over it.  So with this dish, I thought if they cook down and naturally caramelize a little, the flavors will concentrate. Then you can season them and and drizzle some olive oil or take them a step further and turn it into a sauce or just leaving them as is.  I would also suggest going to the farmers market, picking up a large amount of veggies and making a large batch.  It cooks down quite a bit, so it was fine for what I needed it for, but there wasn't any leftover.  I served this on the side where there was a choice of sauce with beef and sausage, a meatless sauce, pasta and polenta.

Oven Roasted Vegetables
I am giving you the amounts that I used when I made this, but as I mentioned, just get a bunch of veggies to make a large batch.

2 zucchini, first cut into round sliced and then the sliced cut in to quarters
4 large mushrooms
4 carrots (mine were fairly thin and short from my organic produce delivery)
4 roma tomatoes, sliced into wedges and the cut each of those in half
1 large heirloom tomato, sliced same as romas
1/2 red onion very thinly sliced
1 rib of celery, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Olive or vegetable oil for drizzling
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 cup water
1 or 2 tsp of Italian seasoning
1 tsp no-salt seasoning (like Mrs. Dash or 21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joe's)
Salt and pepper to your own taste

Prepare/slice all the vegetables.  Using a large sheet pan with sides (I covered mine with foil to make clean up easier) spread out the vegetables with the crushed garlic, mix them around and season with Italian seasoning and no-salt seasoning.  Place in oven that has been pre-heated at 400 degrees.  Periodically check on them and use a spatula to mix them around some more.
When they are cooked down and the juices from the tomatoes is mostly gone, they are done, about 20 minutes.  You can then serve them as is or do what I did to make it sort of like a thick sauce-
Transfer to a medium pot over medium heat and season them more if you want, drizzle in the oil and mix in the tomato paste and water.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Uncooked veggies, toss them together on the pan with the seasonings and garlic

The finished dish!  I wish I would have plated some up to take a photo but there was no more time or sunlight!

I linked the polenta recipe I use above.  It's from Mark Bittman and it's very easy.  I love it and these veggies served on top of the polenta along with some marinara sauce and a little cheese is excellent.

Polenta Without Fear from Mark Bittman, New York Times

Ingredients

1 cup milk (preferably whole milk)
2 cups water
Salt
1 cup coarse cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 to 4 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup or more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to taste, optional

Method
1. Bring milk to a boil with 2 cups water in a medium saucepan and add a large pinch of salt. Adjust heat so liquid simmers. Add cornmeal in a steady stream, whisking as you do to prevent lumps. When it has all been added, let mixture return to a boil, then turn heat to low. Polenta should be just barely simmering.

2. Cook, stirring occasionally and being sure to scrape sides and bottom of pan, for 15 to 20 minutes, until mixture is creamy and cornmeal tastes cooked. If mixture becomes too thick, whisk in some water, about 1/2 cup at a time.

3. Taste and season polenta as necessary with salt and pepper. Take pan off stove, stir in the butter or oil and the cheese if you are using it, and serve, passing more cheese at the table if you like.