Buzz
Now that the temperature has finally dropped enough for me to wear a sweatshirt indoors, it’s the perfect time to roast some vegetables. Roasted potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, and pretty much any veggie taste great with just oil, salt, and pepper. But to give them a richer, more complex flavor, I love adding a bit of Better Than Bouillon.
Some might call using BTB 'cheating,' but let me remind you that feeding yourself isn’t a test. No one’s grading you, and BTB is incredibly tasty. This concentrated, salty paste—made from meat, vegetables, and sometimes hydrolyzed vegetable or soy protein—packs a punch of umami, similar to MSG. When combined with fat and spread on vegetables, it forms a delicious crust while simplifying your ingredient list to just three items.
With so many different flavors to choose from, I encourage you to get creative. While it’s easy to match like with like, try stepping outside your comfort zone. I enjoy pairing the ham base with carrots, the lobster base with white mushrooms, and the beef base with russet potatoes. (For an extra beefy kick, use beef tallow.)
Better Than Bouillon is an incredibly concentrated ingredient, so using too much can overwhelm your dish with saltiness. A good guideline is to use two teaspoons for every pound of vegetables, which will infuse the veggies with savory flavor without overpowering them. When it comes to fat, opt for a solid one like tallow, duck fat, or lard. BTB tends to separate from liquid fats quickly, causing it to slide off vegetables before they even reach the oven. Mixing the concentrate with a solid fat creates a paste that stays in place, ensuring an even coat and a deliciously crisp crust. To make these ultra-savory vegetables, you'll need:
1 pound of vegetables
1 tablespoon of fat (such as tallow, duck fat, schmaltz, or lard)
2 teaspoons of Better Than Bouillon (any flavor)
Preheat your oven to 425℉. Prepare your vegetables by chopping or peeling them as needed, then place them in a bowl or container with a lid. Mash 2 teaspoons of Better Than Bouillon into 1 tablespoon of fat using a fork until you have a smooth, uniform paste. Spoon the paste onto the vegetables, close the lid, and shake the container to coat everything evenly. Transfer the vegetables to a prepared roasting pan and roast them until they're tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking. (Check this post for approximate roasting times.) Serve immediately.
