Roast sweet potatoes, parsnips, purple potatoes and roasted garlic with ricotta recipe

I love every season but root vegetables and citrus make winter a particularly special time. Fresh herbs are important to my cooking and winter isn’t as kind to the herb garden, although rosemary never falters, and sage to a degree and thyme still have something to offer. Increasingly I find myself turning to lemon thyme – it does need some nurturing to keep it going but it’s worth it. While flavour is my driving force, there is something about really colourful food that is immediately appealing, which is why I include a range of root vegetables here. They need to be cooked through properly so keep an eye on them and adjust the timing to suit your oven you want them so tender they yield to the fork as you eat.