Prebiotic Roasted Tray Bake With Tahini Drizzle

Prebiotics are types of dietary fibre that feed the friendly bacteria in your gut. This helps the gut bacteria produce nutrients for your colon cells and leads to a healthier digestive system. This prebiotic bake uses vegetables like Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, asparagus and onions, all of which are within the top ten best prebiotic foods.

Roasting is a great way to cheer up any vegetable that may have been left in the fridge too long. Do you sometimes find you do that? I know there are times when I do! 

Vegetables all cook at different speeds, so the nice thing about this dish is that some will be crunchier than others. For a little bit of zing, the dish is jazzed up with a nice tangy garlic tahini drizzle.

Ingredients:

Serves Four

200 g (7 oz.) Jerusalem artichokes
1/2 lemon
200 g (7 oz.) parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthways
300 g (10 1/2 oz.) heirloom or baby carrots, trimmed
2 leeks, white part only, washed well, cut into 2 cm (3/4 inch) rounds
2 red onions, cut in half, or into thick wedges
1 jicama (Mexican yam bean), peeled and thinly sliced
12 asparagus spears, trimmed
60 ml (2 fl. oz./ 1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
Aleppo pepper or red chili flakes, for sprinkling

Garlic tahini drizzle:
1 garlic clove, crushed
Pinch of Celtic sea salt
3–4 tbsp. tahini
3–4 tbsp. lemon juice, or more to taste
2–3 tbsp. (filtered) water

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Line a large roasting pan with baking paper.
2. To prepare the artichokes, scrub them well, but don’t peel them unless the skin seems too rough. Cut in half lengthways and immediately rub the cut surface with the cut surface of the lemon, to stop it browning.
3. Place all the vegetables, except the jicama and asparagus, in a single layer in the roasting pan. You don’t want to crowd the vegetables, or they won’t roast and crisp up, so use another lined roasting pan if necessary. Drizzle with the olive oil and rub to coat well.
4. Bake for 25 minutes, turning the vegetables once.
5. Add the jicama and asparagus and roast for a further 10 minutes, or until the asparagus is just cooked and all the vegetables are golden around the edges.
6. Meanwhile, to make the garlic tahini drizzle, mash the garlic and salt to a purée, using a mortar and pestle. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in the tahini. Add the lemon juice and a little bit of the water, whisking continuously, adding a little more water each time until the sauce reaches the consistency of thick cream or runny yogurt. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

7. Serve the roasted vegetables with the garlic tahini drizzle. 

Tip:

Tahini is a paste made from lightly toasted sesame seeds. It tends to separate on sitting, especially if kept in the fridge. You can bring the tahini back together by leaving the jar upside down for 15 minutes, then giving it a quick stir with a clean spoon.

Original recipe idea here 

Dear reader, you will find a variety of recipe ideas are within this blog. It is important to note, that not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan