Roasted Root Vegetables with Feta and Thyme

Ingredients

• 130 g feta, crumbled
• 3 parsnips, peeled and cut into 2-3cm pieces
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-3cm pieces
• 1 swede, peeled and cut into 2-3cm pieces
• black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1 tbsp thyme, chopped
• 2 tbsp honey
• low-calorie cooking spray
• Crusty sourdough bread, to serve
• Dressed green salad, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). A properly hot oven is what gives you caramelised edges instead of pale, steamed roots.
2. Tip the parsnips, carrots and swede into a large roasting tin and toss with the olive oil. Scatter over the garlic granules and chopped thyme, then season generously with salt and black pepper — root veg are sweet and dense, they need more salt than you think. Spread them out in a single layer; crowd the tin and they'll steam instead of roast.
3. Roast uncovered for 50 minutes to 1 hour, tossing once halfway through, until the edges are deeply caramelised and a knife slides easily into the swede. Watch the garlic granules in the last 10 minutes — they catch fast once the tin's hot, and burnt garlic turns bitter on you.
4. Pull the tin out and drizzle the honey straight over the hot vegetables. Toss so everything turns glossy and sticky — the residual heat melts the honey into a glaze rather than a puddle.
5. Scatter the crumbled feta across the top and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the feta is softened and just starting to colour at the edges.
6. Taste a parsnip — adjust for salt now, before it hits the table. The feta brings its own salt, but the roots may still want a pinch.
7. To serve, bring the tin to the table, scatter the fresh parsley straight over the top, and squeeze the lemon wedges over — the acid cuts through the honey and feta and lifts the whole thing.