You can do this with any root vegetable, including the ones no one uses very often like turnips, rutabaga.  Kids will eat them because roasting brings out the sugar and they are slightly sweet.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lbs carrots, peeled
• 1 ½ lbs parsnips, peeled
• 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled
• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and seeded
• 5 Tab olive oil
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 3 Tab flat leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:Preheat oven to 425°.

1. Cut vegetables in 1 to 1 ¼ inch cubes. They shrink so don’t cut too small.
2. Place all the vegetables in a single layer on 2 baking sheets.
3. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss well
4. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until all vegetables are tender, turning once with a spatula.
5. Sprinkle with parsley, season to taste, and serve hot.

Comments: The more surface area you have directly touching the roasting pan or the hot air of the oven, the more caramelization you’re going to get, because it’s the outside of a piece of food that gets the most intense heat. So this means two things: 1) don’t pile your vegetables on top of one another — lay them out in one layer. And 2) how you cut your vegetables really matters. Tiny pieces will have more exposed surface area relative to their insides than big chunks.

Serves: 10 – 12

Source: Barefoot Contessa Family Style 2002