Register

vegetable side dishes

Swap ideas and tips or ask advice about being a veggie.
User avatar
Posts: 3687
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 11:53 am
Location: Cheltenumb

vegetable side dishes

Postby Gillthepainter » Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:39 am

I'm so unambitious when it comes to vegetables on the plate.
And I usually just steam them. Carrots, cauliflower, sugarsnaps and mange touts, all get the same treatment. Although cabbages might get sauteed.

Potatoes are usually boiled if we have them.

Do you have ideas or suggestions of how to add interest to vegetables?

Or recipes for stand alone dishes using veggies?

User avatar
Posts: 488
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 10:17 pm
Location: East Anglia, UK

Re: vegetable side dishes

Postby Suelle » Thu Jun 07, 2012 8:29 am

I don't think there's anything wrong with plainly cooked vegetables, especially when they are really fresh, or if they are accompanying a dish with complex flavours.

Roasting a tray of mixed vegetables with herbs or spices is one way of adding flavour. In winter I like to use just a few together - parsnips and onions flavoured with nigella seeds is a good combination, or sweet potato, squash, onions and mushrooms with herbs and garlic. In summer the same vegetables that go into ratatouille make a good roasted combination. For the best effect you need to add the vegetables at intervals in order of hardness, rather than throw them all in together - chunks of onion need up to an hour, whereas tomatoes need only 15 minutes or so.
The blog which does what it says on the tin:

http://mainlybaking.blogspot.co.uk/

User avatar
Posts: 1773
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:40 pm

Re: vegetable side dishes

Postby karadekoolaid » Thu Jun 07, 2012 1:40 pm

Do you have ideas or suggestions of how to add interest to vegetables?


A pinch of garam masala before serving
A tbsp of fresh herbs: oregano, basil, parsley, coriander or dill
A tarka made with cumin seeds and a thinly sliced onion
A Mediterranean "tarka" made with paprika and a garlic clove or two
Finely chopped crispy bacon
Chile oil ( well I would, wouldn't I?)
Toasted filleted almonds

User avatar
Posts: 4139
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm
Location: Stoke Newington, London

Re: vegetable side dishes

Postby Stokey Sue » Thu Jun 07, 2012 2:59 pm

Add flaked almond (or bread crumbs or both) quickly made golden in butter - good with cauli & green beans, among other veg

Carrots vichy (carrot batons cooked in about 1/4 cup water, with butter salt, peepr and a little sugar until cooked and glazed
Leeks or courgettes cooked the same way, but without the sugar (finsih the courgettes with a basil chiffonade)

Small leeks braised in red wine with a little thyme

Creamed spinach

French peas cooked with lettuce & little onions, with or without lardons

Cauliflower cooked, then fry a little garlic in olive , add the cauli florets, turn over a few times, then add a good squirt of tomato puree (standard or sun dried) and a little of the cooking water from the cauli. toss well to coat all the white cauli - Italian cauliflower

User avatar
Posts: 3832
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 6:28 pm

Re: vegetable side dishes

Postby jeral » Thu Jun 07, 2012 3:00 pm

And some more...:
As a complete dish, a vegetable crumble makes a nice change, like this (use "V" cheese for veggie): http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/3576/roa ... umble.aspx

Wedges made with sweet potato dusted with paprika.

There's no excuse for not varying potatoes ;) Potato pieces Bombay style, like: http://thegluttonskitchen.com/2010/05/2 ... 0potatoes/ or hasselbacks: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetabl ... atoes.htm; different flavoured mashes (e.g. olive oil and garlic or mustard).

Layered pot bakes, e.g. potato, mushroom, apple, cheese like mozzarella. Sauté the mushroom in a bit of oil/butter, bits of onion and with a scant teaspoon of Marmite for flavour,

Any of the aubergine bakes, either sliced, stuffed, or mushed. Any peppers stuffed then baked.

Spicy samosas or these sweet potato/ginger parcels: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4086 ... er-parcels, or pasties (with or without cheese).

Vegetarian quiches and puff pastry vegetable tray bakes.

Fine green beans sautéed in a little oil flavoured with cumin, onion, garlic if liked; then add a big chopped tomato (or Tbspn paste), a little water or stock then lid on until simmered to required doneness. (Goes well with lamb.)

Mushroom bourguignon. (Some recipes are better than others so better to tweak them to suit.) Mushroom stroganoff.

Stir fries, like in packets and with bamboo shoots added momentarily. Serve with egg noodles tossed in tiny spot of sesame oil and with egg fried rice. Need to plan ahead for the rice as it should be cooled before attempting the frying part.

Dugout picnic loaves using layers of different sautéed vegetables, herbs to taste. For non veggie, add layers of crispy smoked streaky bacon too.

Honey glazed carrots; caul or courgette or okra bhaji like: http://indianfood.about.com/od/vegetari ... ibhaji.htm (all good for a filled Yorkshire pudding). Or courgette fritters, like: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/513265

Not forgetting the items in your pulses thread of course :)

Sorry not very well ordered as to mains and sides.

User avatar
Posts: 3687
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 11:53 am
Location: Cheltenumb

Re: vegetable side dishes

Postby Gillthepainter » Sat Jun 09, 2012 8:31 am

Suelle wrote:I don't think there's anything wrong with plainly cooked vegetables, especially when they are really fresh, or if they are accompanying a dish with complex flavours.


Exactly so. I couldn't agree more, and it still remains our preferred way of eating them.
& thank you for the oven roasted ideas, Sue. It's not a technique I use at all, so I'm pleased to see it suggested here.

Hi Clive.
Lovely liveners there. I particularly like the paprika tarka suggestion. As I cook Spanish fairly often.

Morning Stokey.
Yumm-O to your simple veggie recipes. The leek one intrigues me, as I'd automatically pick up a bottle of white for them.
I must try that.

And hello Jeral.
Lots of ideas there too. Thank you. It's been years since I've eaten hasselbacks.
I cook Indian style food fairly regularly so like the bombay and the samosa links.

Great ideas. Thank you.

User avatar
Posts: 1268
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:14 am
Location: South Wales

Re: vegetable side dishes

Postby Puss-in-boots » Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:37 pm

Some great ideas and oh i had forgotten about Hasslebacks, haven`t made them for years, may give them a try on the barbie wrapped in foil.

User avatar
Posts: 483
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 1:58 am

Re: vegetable side dishes

Postby AZCook » Tue Feb 25, 2014 11:45 am

Gill, PIB - resurrecting the thread - am over this side for a bit and looking for good veg recipes - such nice stuff about :)

User avatar
Posts: 2873
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 12:28 pm

Re: vegetable side dishes

Postby Dena » Wed Jun 25, 2014 8:46 pm

I like boulangere potatoes, cooked under lamb on the oven shelf. Pommes Anna, dauphinoise, I still like croquettes, fondant potatoes, lemon pots, saffron pots, latkes, various flavoured mash.

Baby beetroot in sour cream and beetroot dauphinoise are good.

I saw a chef on Saturday kitchen doing a medley of peas, asparagus and broad beans in a frying pan with just a little water and butter that looked gorgeous.

French beans lightly cooked then finished off in a little tomato concasse with a hint of garlic and shallot, or left to go cold and dressed with oil, garlic and sliced almonds.

Supper calls - this has made me hungry :lol:

User avatar
Posts: 369
Joined: Sat May 05, 2012 9:47 pm

Re: vegetable side dishes

Postby Mamta » Wed Jun 25, 2014 11:15 pm

Hello Gill
Apart from other 100 and 1 things you can do with vegetables, a lot of fresh summer vegetables can be stuffed simply, depending upon what you have lurking around.
Stuffed peppers can be made in many ways. Here is one I made a couple of days ago
1a_edited-2.jpg
1a_edited-2.jpg (80.99 KiB) Viewed 8807 times
with what I had left over in the fridge;
Stuffed baby cabbage and other vegetables
Stuffed butter-nut squash
Stuffed mushrooms
Stuffed potatoes

Marinated and grilled vegetables on skewers
Stir fried with a little garlic and sliced onions

Posts: 6
Joined: Wed May 11, 2016 2:30 pm
Location: Saffron Walden, UK

Re: vegetable side dishes

Postby almadolce » Fri May 27, 2016 2:17 pm

You must try aubergine Parmigiana Recipe, a delicious classic Italian baked veggie dish for any occasion. A simple aubergine parmigiana recipe for you to cook a great meal for family or friends.

Ingredients for 4 people

800g Aubergines
A jar of tomato passata
500g Mozzarella Cheese
150g Parmigiano Cheese
4 eggs
Half an onion (finely chopped)
1 clove of garlic
Enough flour
4 tbsp. olive oil
Frying oil
Salt
Pepper
Basil

Source & Method: http://blog.vorrei.co.uk/1803-2/

Image

Return to Veggie Chat

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests