Easy Aioli + Roasted Root Vegetables Recipe

I'm very excited to share a little "recipe" today! It's been a minute since I've last shared a recipe, and this one is special. If there is one thing I love when it comes to eating anything, it's dipping my foods in sauces. Any food, any kind of dip, sauce, or spread... I'm here for it. In particular, I love a good aioli. One of my roommates and I decided to make a cheese board on Saturday night and we paired our assortment with delicious roasted veggies and a little aioli. Read on to to try it yourself!

Disclaimer: the base of this aioli is mayo. To be completely honest, this initially kind of freaked me out because I am not a mayo person (which doesn't really make sense considering I love spreads, as I just mentioned) but I promise this aioli is worth it. To combat this a little, we used coconut oil mayo. I can't say whether "regular" mayo would've made the aioli more or less delicious, but I highly recommend going the coconut oil route to achieve such a thing as a "healthier" aioli option if that's up your alley too.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
roughly 6 tablespoons mayo

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

the juice of a 1/4 lemon

minced garlic

salt + pepper

We didn't measure anything out, but used this recipe as our starting point. Essentially, all you have to do is mix everything together! I would recommend using less oil for a thicker aioli but ours was thinner and we liked that consistency for dipping our vegetables! Lemon and garlic are essential for the flavor. It was honestly so delicious and one of the best aioli that I've had (and I've tried a lot!).

For the roasted vegetables we used carrots, a sweet potato, red onion, and a trio of little potatoes. We were planning to make turnips and parsnips as well but couldn't find any that looked great at our grocery store. The carrots were our favorite of this mix!

FOR THE VEGETABLES:
cut vegetables into uniform pieces

toss in a large bowl with...

 1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

salt + pepper

roast at 420 degrees for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender but a little crispy!

While we're here, I'll mention our cheese selection of the night too ;) 

We had brie, smoked gouda, and BelGioioso Artigano Classico (I've seen this at many grocery stores in a variety of flavors and it's so good.. the classic one in particular is nutty, flavorful, and a really well-rounded harder cheese option)

We sautéed mushrooms in red wine too. We topped little toasts with a few mushrooms and a slice of brie which is one of my favorite ways to enjoy a cheese board. My biggest tip for cooking mushrooms is to keep the heat high the whole time because mushrooms act as sponges. Start with high heat, add a little oil to your pan, and once the oil is hot, then add the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms start to brown a little, add a splash of wine and continue to shake the pan and sauté the mushrooms until they are dark and coated. Add salt and pepper at the end, once you've removed them from the heat.

Making dinners like these is one of my favorite things to do on a weekend night with friends and I highly recommend the veggies + aioli for a unique accompaniment!

What are your favorite ways to do a cheese board?

xoxo