This Spray Bottle Makes Veggie Roasting Season 100% Easier
I survive the long, dark stretch of the winter by letting my oven replace the sun. Extreme? Maybe. But when the days are short and my house is chilly, I crank the temperature in my oven and let it feed me, both physically and emotionally. I eat plenty of rich, long-cooked braises, and I’m not mad at a baked pasta every now and then, but I try to keep my body happy with plenty of roasted vegetables. That’s why I originally fell in love with this olive oil spray bottle. But it’s not just useful for roasted vegetables.
By now, you probably know that the key to a deliciously crisp, super-appetizing try of vegetables is a good coat of olive oil. When you’re roasting broccolini, for example, the key is to get oil in all the nooks and crannies. Rather than unevenly pouring olive oil over the tray of vegetables, I use it to lightly and evenly coat whatever I’m roasting. It eliminates the need to use a bowl for prepping, since I have to do a lot less tossing. I also find that I end up using far less (health!) and leaving a lot less excess oil in the bottom of the bowl (less food waste AND less cleanup).
While I have you, I’d like to encourage you to salt your vegetables more aggressively. Broccoli, for example, can take a lot more salt than you might think. When you’re tossing the veg with the basic (holy) trinity of olive oil, salt and pepper, taste a piece and see if it tastes good. If it just tastes like raw, say, broccoli, don’t be afraid to hit it with a little more salt. You can thank me later.
As I mentioned, it’s not just roasting that I use this spray bottle for. I’ve stopped buying and making vinaigrettes for my salads. Instead, I hit the lettuce with a few spritzes of oil to evenly coat, season them with salt, then balance it all out by gently tossing with a little vinegar or lemon juice. It’s faster that making my own dressing, more delicious than using a store-bought dressing full of weird stabilizers, and also avoids the inevitable container of leftover dressing that always seems to be getting gross in the back of my fridge.
The bottle also comes in handy for baking. Gone are the days of buying aerosol cans of baking spray. Now, I just use my spray bottle to coat cookie sheets, loaf pans, cake pans, and more. For bakers who don’t love olive oil in their sweets, a second spray bottle filled with canola oil is a good option.
Finally, you should know this bottle can change your popcorn life. I know butter is the fat of choice for movie snacks, but I like a combination of olive oil, salt, cumin (trust me!), and black pepper. Happy spritzing.
