Middle eastern inspired roast vegetables

Middle eastern inspired roasted vegetables. 

I have about 10 students from Saudi Arabia right now who often start soothing their homesickness by reminiscing with tales of the food back home. I sit and listen to them passionately describe roasted meats, kebabs, stews and vegetables, such as eggplant with hummus and their wonderful coffee and sticky dates. Salivating, we all eagerly await for 12 o'clock to run out and get some food from the local food court no where near as good as what they have been dreaming about.

Recipe : Middle Eastern inspired veg

1/2 cauliflower

1 onion

2 beets

1/2 zucchini

4 garlic cloves

2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

2 large pinches of saffron strands

A few tbsp of bought hummus

I cut half a cauliflower into chunks along with 1 onion, quartered, 2 beets, halved, 1/2 zucchini, sliced into thick chunks and 4 whole, unpeeled garlic cloves. They were drizzled with a good quantity of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp salt, a few good twists of black pepper, half a teaspoon of paprika and 2 large pinches of saffron strands. Baked in the oven at 375oF for about 1 hour, they were slightly caramelized and had a faint honey fragrance from the saffron. I squeezed the garlic out of it's skin and added it to the other veg. Some spicy, store bought hummus spooned on top finished it nicely.