The 2 Essential Tools For Roasting Vegetables Over An Open Flame

Generally speaking, burnt food is bad. In addition to a disappointment and cleaning disaster, research suggests that some blackened foods may cause cancer, including starches and charred meats. Yet, TODAY reports that a Reddit thread claims that there are many popular "overcooked" foods including pepperoni, bratwurst, and brisket burnt ends. However, blackened vegetables stole the show with users touting corn, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts — though it seems that roasted carrots particularly touched Redditors' hearts.

The best way to achieve these crisped, caramelized veggies is to let them be lovingly kissed by an open flame. It adds a smoky depth of flavor that eliminates reliance on extensive seasoning, per Cooking Channel. Chef Victor Albisu says that the charring produces textural variety, offering a more interesting eating experience than uniformly-cooked vegetables. The rich "fiery" flavor is especially good for soups and sauces — whether they're for topping pasta, dressing tacos, or dipping chips. Fire roasting differs from oven roasting, which is typically done with sheet pans or baking dishes and perhaps some aluminum foil. It's simpler and more delightfully primeval to roast over a real fire, and you'll only need two tools to do it efficiently.

"Supper Club" host and chef Jonah Rider wrote for Food & Wine, "To facilitate the easiest open-flame stovetop cooking, buy a simple metal mesh rack and a pair of large tweezers." The mesh rack, he says, fits just right over a burner and is much more rugged than a baking cooling rack that's not meant for the purpose. The fine grate also helps keep your vegetables from casting themselves into the fire, which is never a fun situation. This method is somewhat reminiscent of Korean barbecue, in which meats are cooked on grates over grills incorporated into the table (per MasterClass).

For the tweezers, Rider recommends kitchen tweezers, which are far more precise than cumbersome tongs. He says that dainty produce like green beans can become charred culinary masterpieces in under a minute to two minutes, robust vegetables like peppers and onions take around 30 minutes and big root vegetables need at least an hour. In the case of the larger choices, Rider says don't fret if they look hopelessly overdone — it's what's on the inside that counts. While you can certainly use tongs or a skewer to do all this, you'll have to stand over the stove and pretend like you're roasting a marshmallow over a campfire. Who's got time to toil over a roasting beet?

TODAY posted a recipe for chargrilled "burnt carrots" paired with sharp chevre. Another crowd-pleaser is zesty fire-roasted tomato salsa, which you can make from scratch with fresh tomatoes and chilies. Blistered shishitos with lemon aioli make an attractive vegetarian appetizer. To get a feel for how a veritable rainbow of vegetables takes to the flame, try Giada De Laurentiis's grilled vegetables featuring bell peppers, summer squash, Japanese eggplant, asparagus, mushrooms, and onions. You can even char cherry tomatoes (they have a delightful pop when you eat them). Just keep in mind that every flame-grilled morsel is unique and may require different cooking times.

If you're concerned about the health risks of flamed foods, some experts suggest that marinating may help. And if it's the clean-up that turns you off charring, there are easy, organic ways to get that burnt crust off your cookware. It's a moot point with vegetables like peppers, which have potentially indigestible skin (per Insider) after charring them. But, BBC Good Food says to pop them into sealed bags, let them cool, and peel off the blackened skin after they've "steamed" in there. 

If you're fire-roasting inside, be sure to open windows if you don't have a stove hood, and be cognizant of fire hazards, Food & Wine reminds us. As long as you follow the experts' advice, you'll be able to enjoy the benefits of burnt food.