I am always looking for new, unique vegetable side dishes to go with roasted or grilled meats. When meat is on my menu, I often include oven roasted potatoes of some sort, then add another side such as sautéed leafy greens. When you stick to the same things time and time again, although delicious, it can get a tad boring. This easy vegetable side includes potatoes, zucchini, onions, garlic, and pancetta which are seasoned with fresh thyme and parsley. I love oven roasting vegetables because there is so little effort required once they are prepped and popped into the oven. An occasional toss and check, and you let the oven do the work. The only hitch in this recipe is that potatoes take much longer to cook than zucchini, but all you need to do is add the zucchini during the last 15 minutes or so.
For best results, use a waxy potato that will hold its shape and not break apart in the oven. I used a red Colfiorito potato found here in Umbria that is extremely hard for the dish in these photographs, so my cooking time was longer than usual. I usually use Yukon Gold potatoes however and find the cooking time will be shorter. Your cooking time may vary depending on your choice of potato, so just check the potatoes for doneness after 30 minutes. For recipes such as this that use pancetta, I prefer buying a slab of pancetta and cutting it into dice. If pancetta is difficult for you to find locally, you could substitute bacon.
