What you need for four portions
Use 500 g of potatoes, 300 g of carrots, one medium courgette, one onion, three tablespoons of olive oil, one teaspoon of dried oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Allow fifteen minutes for preparation and around forty for roasting. Preheat to 200°C with top and bottom heat. Times vary with equipment and piece size; checking with a fork is more useful than following the clock without observing.
Cut according to each vegetable
Wash the vegetables. Cut potatoes into roughly two-centimetre cubes, carrots into thinner half-rounds and the onion into wedges. Cut the courgette slightly larger because it tends to soften faster. Keep any skins you want to use, provided they are clean and in good condition. The aim is to bring cooking times closer together rather than make every piece exactly the same shape.
Give them space to roast
Combine the potatoes, carrots and onion with two tablespoons of oil and some oregano in a roasting tray. Spread into one layer rather than a tall heap. Roast for twenty minutes. Meanwhile, coat the courgette in the remaining oil. Remove the tray using oven gloves, turn the vegetables and add the courgette. Return for around twenty minutes until the potatoes are tender and some areas lightly golden.
Observe before correcting
If vegetables darken before becoming tender, lower the temperature slightly and monitor cooking. If there is too much liquid and little browning, check whether the tray is overloaded. Two trays may work better than a deep layer, but airflow and timing vary. Do not repeatedly add oil without understanding the cause. Ingredient arrangement and container size influence the result as much as seasoning does.
Serve and adapt the next attempt
Season to taste at the end and serve as a side dish. Replace oregano with rosemary or add pepper, remembering that each ingredient reacts differently. Record the cuts and your oven’s cooking time to repeat the result. A predictable base makes improvising easier in later meals. The photograph is illustrative: the ingredients and presentation on your tray may differ.
