Italian Vegetables

The book has entered its second printing. Rachel called with the news — the first printing sold through in six weeks, which is not a record but is, for a debut memoir by a sixty-eight-year-old retired English teacher from Long Island, remarkable. The second printing means: more books. More hands. More kitchens receiving the recipes. More women reading about Sylvia and recognizing their own mothers. More men reading about Marvin and recognizing their own fathers. The chain extends with every copy printed, and the extending is the purpose, and the purpose is the book.

I am adjusting to the oddness of being a public person — a minor public person, a food-section-of-the-newspaper public person, not a celebrity, not a brand, just a woman who wrote a book that some people are reading and who is occasionally recognized at the farm stand by a reader who says, "Are you Ruth Feldman?" and I say, "I am," and they say, "I made your brisket," and I say, "It's Sylvia's brisket. I'm just the delivery system." The recognition is both flattering and uncomfortable, because I am a private person who wrote a very personal book and the book has made the private public and the public is friendly but intrusive and the intrusion is the price of the chain extending, and I pay the price, because the chain is worth it.

I made the delivery-system brisket. Six hours. Low heat. The delivery system operates regardless of public recognition.

The brisket was already in the oven — six hours, low heat, no negotiation — and the question was only ever what would sit beside it. I’ve made these Italian vegetables so many times they require no thinking, which is exactly what I needed: a side dish that operates on its own terms, unimpressed by second printings or farm-stand recognition, just vegetables doing what vegetables do when you apply heat and a little patience. That is the whole of it.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1 medium yellow squash, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium red onion, cut into wedges
1 cup cherry tomatoes, whole
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Fresh basil leaves for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
Prep the vegetables. Slice the zucchini, yellow squash, and bell peppers, and cut the red onion into wedges. Try to keep pieces roughly the same size so they cook evenly.
Season. In a large bowl, toss all the vegetables and cherry tomatoes with the olive oil, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper until evenly coated.
Arrange on the baking sheet. Spread the vegetables in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Do not crowd them — use two pans if needed to keep the vegetables roasting rather than steaming.
Roast. Roast for 25–30 minutes, turning once halfway through, until the vegetables are tender and the edges are lightly caramelized.
Finish and serve. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with Parmesan if using. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with fresh basil leaves if desired. Serve warm alongside your main course.

Nutrition (per serving)

Italian Vegetables — The Side Dish That Shows Up Whether Anyone’s Watching or Not