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I've been struggling with the no-oil vegetable roasting. I've tried both 450 and 475 degrees, and gotten the proper browning. I've used a sauce to coat (lemon tahini). And the result is always a little disappointing.

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

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This event was on July 25, 2023

Join Chef Eric Wynkoop in his virtual office as he welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to Ask Anything – from cooking techniques to course-specific questions, to how to turn your cooking passion into profit or simply hearing the perspective of a professional chef, Chef Eric is ready to answer them all.

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Question

Kristine Hendrickson

I've been struggling with the no-oil vegetable roasting. I've tried both 450 and 475 degrees, and gotten the proper browning. I've used a sauce to coat (lemon tahini). And the result is always a little disappointing. ?

Answer

If you're looking for a little bit more flavored development from the tahini and those ingredients in that sauce, uh, then push that sauce for a little more caramelization if you think that might be the answer. Okay? Or you might need a little more salt or flavoring in that sauce itself before you apply it to the carrots, okay? So, um, you know, approach this from those two different angles, okay? If it's, um, um, you know, a matter of more caramelization, you might consider applying the sauce more thinly, uh, so that once it does caramelize in the oven, you have more browning to sauce ratio, okay? So, in other words, if you put a thick layer of sauce and the top gets, uh, browned, you still have all this sauce in the middle that's not browned. So when you go to eat it, there'll be, you know, a, a dilution of flavor, uh, comparatively speaking, okay? Uh, but otherwise go back to the recipe, uh, for the sauce, and then look at those ingredients. So whether it's the acid or the, um, uh, the salt, maybe you wanna, uh, you know, add, uh, spices, um, in order to bring up the flavor, interest of the sauce itself, okay? But do some experimentation. And again, if you have additional questions, reach out to us, right? support@Rouxbe.com.

Eric Wynkoop

Director of Culinary Instruction

Eric Wynkoop previously served as a founding faculty member at The International Culinary School, instructor in anthropology at Portland State University, and Senior Instructor at the Le Cordon Bleu program at Western Culinary Institute, in Portland, Oregon. He holds Master’s Degrees in postsecondary education and cultural anthropology, as well as credentials in Ayurveda wellness and cooking. Eric has spent more than twenty years in the food and beverage industry. His experiences include banquet management, catering, personal chef, winery cellar hand, educator, textbook contributor, consultant, and ethnographer. He also brings food and cultural insight from nearly a decade of residence in Japan, studies in Mexico, and research in India as a Fulbright Scholar. After graduating from the University of Oregon with a dual degree in Japanese and Asian Studies, he went on to receive his formal culinary training at Western Culinary Institute, in Portland, Oregon. Eric’s role with Rouxbe is central to enhancing the student experience through quality course content and new course development at Rouxbe. Eric is also the lead instructor in Rouxbe courses, a role which he has enjoyed since 2016.