Roasted Potatoes and Root Vegetables

• 2 ½ pounds mixed root vegetables—potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips, beets, sweet potatoes, small onion or whole shallots
• 1 head garlic, separated into cloves but unpeeled
• Several short rosemary sprigs or 10 sage leaves
• 3 bay leaves
• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly milled pepper

Preheat the oven to 450. Peel the vegetables, onions, and shallots. Cut everything into pieces roughly the same size except for the parsnips, sweet potatoes, and turnips, which cook faster and can be slightly larger than the rest. Toss the vegetables, garlic, and herbs with oil to coat lightly, then season with salt and pepper. Put everything in a roomy pan. Bake , uncovered, in the top third of the oven for 20 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice. Reduce the heat to 375F and continue baking until the vegetables are tender when pierced with a knife, 20 -30 minutes, depending on how large they are. Remove the bay leaves. If using one of the herb salts or vinegar, sprinkle it over the vegetables as soon as they come out of the oven.

Serves 4-6.