Vegetable recipes

Cafe Society
1

I’m a pretty good cook, only vegetables are not my strong suit.
[ul][li]Asparagus: Steam it. Or else roll it up in very thinly sliced beef and grill it.[/li][li]Artichokes: Boil 'em.[/li][li]Kale: Boil it. Use the leftovers in colcannon.[/li][li]Onions: An ingredient. [/li][li]Brussels sprouts: Boil 'em.[/li][li]Eggplant/Aubergines: Bread them and fry them in olive oil.[/li][li]Corn: Boil 'em! Or wrap them in foil and put them on the grill.[/li][li]Potatoes: Fried, shredded and fried, baked, boiled, mashed… the usual.[/ul][/li]Pretty boring, eh?

I’ve tried roasting veg (potatoes, onions, zucchini, squash), but it never turned out as good as when other people make it.

And there are so many other vegetables! I’ve used leeks in soup. That was good. But how do I cook the old standards, and increase variety, in a non-boring way? I’m thinking sauces and such.

2

Are you looking for “healthy” recipes or will any do? Somewhere in these boards a couple of us mentioned a killer potato recipe but healthy it ain’t.

I like to sautee green beans in some butter and salt, then add lemon juice on the plate. I think to do this properly, it’s probably best to blanche them first (boil 1 minute, plunge into ice water 1 minute…that’ll keep 'em green).

I want to try roasting some corn on the grill. I’ve seen it done on TV; peel back (but don’t pull off) the husks. Butter generously and I’d add some chili powder, maybe some lime.

And of course don’t forget salads.

3

Anything non-boring will do. I made asparagus in an alfredo sauce that was pretty good. I’m not really ‘big on’ salads. Cooked foods keep longer, and there’s only me. I’d like to do more with leeks than just put them in soup. I like bok choi when I have it at a Chinese restaurant, but I’ve never attempted to cook it myself. I could stand to do more with cabbage. Turnips? ‘Neeps and tatties’ are about it for me. What else can they be used for? The greengrocers at Pike Place Market have lots of good-looking things that I’ve never attempted (or for many of them, never eaten). Just trying to expand my horizons.

Oh – I did make chile rellenos that came out pretty good.

4

Johnny, try tossing the asparagus with some olive oil, pepper, and salt and baking at 350 on a cookie sheet 'til done. Or you can grill them. I actually do this treatment on a lot of veggies. For zucchini (and I’m proud of myself for this one), I quarter them lengthwise, season as mentioned, then lay each spear on the grill between grates. They’re just the right size to nestle in there and get good and seared on both cut sides (assuming not-teeny squash! But no need to get huge ones). Sometimes I dress them with a little lemon juice after they’re done. There’s no reason you couldn’t do something similar with aubergine, although I’m not fond of it personally.

I also love this recipe a lot, although I tend to omit the butternut squash since it’s such a PITA to deal with.

Bok choy or cabbage I chop up rough and stir fry (often served with chicken or pork). I love baby bok choy the most, although it’s a bit more pricey. The color is beautiful though and stir-frying really keeps them crisp. I just stir them in some peanut oil, then make a soy/ginger/garlic sauce thickened with a little corn starch slurry.

5

Asparagus: Steam it. Or else roll it up in very thinly sliced beef and grill it.
Artichokes: Boil 'em.
Kale: Boil it. Use the leftovers in colcannon.
Onions: An ingredient.
Brussels sprouts: Boil 'em.
Eggplant/Aubergines: Bread them and fry them in olive oil.
Corn: Boil 'em! Or wrap them in foil and put them on the grill.
Potatoes: Fried, shredded and fried, baked, boiled, mashed… the usual.

Some ideas:

Asparagus…you’re on it with the grilling part, but marinated grilled asparagus by itself (with the grill char on it) is pretty damn good. I generally buy an inexpensive balsamic vinagrette salad dressing to marinate the spears in for about 14 hours and then grill away. Be sure your grill is on a level surface though…those fuckers like to roll around!

Onions: you need to master carmellization. Slice the onions and sautee them with butter, salt and pecker until they are virtually translucent. Then use them as a side dish or a topping for your favorite fish or meat. Yum.

Brussel Sprouts: Carmelize them and eat them with seared sea scallops. Don’t ask me why this works, but it does. The trick is to carmelize the sprouts properly and then treat the scallops to a bit of brown butter and/or truffle oil. Heaven.
Alternately, you can steam them and slather them with melted cheese. That’s always a bonus.

Potaotes: If you have a way to whip them (mechanized or otherwise), infuse the mash with some butter, sour cream, salt and pecker and a lavish amount of roasted garlic. You won’t be disappointed.

6

Hmm, based on what I read on wiki I might have to reassess my reluctance to use butternut squash:

My but that does sound good.

7

OK, well then…

I usually get a recipe, make it to the letter a few times, then toss it and improve on it. So if my numbers are a little off, it’s all to taste anyway…no critical measurements on these, just what you like.

  1. Pasta salad. Make some corkscrew or bowtie pasta to your taste, drain. Use some oil to keep from clumping. Add the things that appeal to you, like:

A) Meat. Lunch meats are often good, cut up, or you can go straight to pepperoni/canadian bacon.
B) Sauteed onion (leeks are great).
C) sundried tomato or halved cherry tomatoes
D) broccoli florets
E) olives or olive slices
F) cheese—I like mozzarella, parmesan, feta (note: if you let the pasta cool it won’t melt the cheese)
G) jalapenos
H) Etc.

I like lots of fresh-ground or coarse-ground pepper in this, a little salt, maybe some Italian spice mix. Crushed red chili if you like.
2) Melt about a stick of butter in a skillet. Sautee a medium chopped yellow onion (or substitute leeks) till transparent.

In a bowl, mix 32oz frozen hashbrowns (shredded or cubed but not patties) or potatoes o’brien with the onion/butter, 1 can soup concentrate*, 4 oz shredded sharp cheddar, 4 oz sour cream. Again, use more sour cream (or whatever) if you particularly love that ingredient…there’s nothing critical about the proportions.

*soup concentrate=cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, cream of celery or whatever you like. If you’re a big cheese fiend, use a cheese soup concentrate instead.

Add some kosher salt, coarse-ground or fresh-ground pepper to taste.

Put into a 9x13 or so, and bake about 1 hour 15 min at 350F.

Note: if you like it on a baked potato, it can go in here.

8

Get yourself a BBQ wok and grill those suckers! We regularly wok onions, peppers, asparagus, bok choy, etc.

Eggplant belongs in Eggplant Parmesan.

9

I stole this one. There’s a place called Kojii’s in Orange, CA that calls them ‘beef crêpes’. Very thin beef with the fat cut off is wrapped around an asparagus spear and grilled. Then it’s cut up like a California roll (10 pieces from two ‘crêpes’). The sauce is basically mayo and soy(a) sauce. I’m still working on that. I have to try light soy sauce next time. But that’s a beef dish, rather than an asparagus dish.

10

Queen Bruin, butternut squash can be marvelous. Brush with oil, grill it, then sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Delish!

11

I have a box of butternut squash soup in the fridge. Pretty tasty. My former roommate used to make pumpkin soup. (He’s quite the chef. He moved to Canada to be with his g/f, and is attending culinary school there.)

12

Is there an expedient way of peeling the damn things that I’m not getting? The last time I tried to mess with it I ended up getting frustrated with wrestling the thing.

ETA: that is, aside from roasting first then peeling?

13

Garnish your squash soup with a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprinkling of baby greens.

Also, back to asparagi, my method involves only the asparagus marinated and grilled. The beef-wrapped thing sounds delicious, but you asked for an isolationist-vegetable view.

14

Peel? We don’t need to peel!

GRILLED WINTER SQUASH
2 pounds banana squash or butternut squash
2 Tbsp apple juice
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 squash cut into 4 pieces.
Discard seeds.
Place squash in microwavable baking dish. Cover with vented plastic wrap. Microwave at HIGH 3 to 5 minutes. Turn squash. Continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
Discard plastic wrap.
Pierce flesh of squash with fork at 1-inch intervals.
Place squash in foil pan.

Combine apple juice and butter; brush over squash. Sprinkle with sugar. Grill squash on covered barbeque grill for 20 to 30 minutes until squash is tender.
If necessary, use a harp peeler and a heavy glove. I usually either grill the slices unpeeled, or cut around the inside of the peel after the squash is sliced.

15

I must try this when it’s not so hot that I hate food. :slight_smile: Thanks, silenus!

16

Here’s one I like for potatoes. I saute chopped red or green onion and red potatoes and mushrooms, dump in some cream cheese when those are done and let it melt and stir it in, then stir in fresh baby spinach, along with some salt and pepper and a little dill. Sorry I can’t give amounts, I don’t measure anything, I just put in what looks like would taste good.

17

If you like sweet potatoes, Peel and slice one up into 1/4" slices and boil until fork tender. Meanwhile, roast a poblano pepper over open flame and put in bag after it gets nice and blistery all over. After a few minutes in the bag, remove, rub off the burned skin with a paper towel, remove the stem and the seeds and dice. Drain the water from the potatoes and mash with salt, pepper, butter, brown sugar and the diced peppers.

Strips of leeks fried sounds good to me and you could use it as a topper for the above.

Another thing might be a hash of potatoes, peppers, onions and beets all diced and tossed with melted butter or oil, paprika, salt and pepper and fried up. I have never tried that myself, but I am going to have to.

Sometimes when the wife and kids are out of town, I will fry up a sliced onion with salt, pepper and olive oil and eat it right out of the pan.

Grilled portabellos with compound butter on a sandwich are good.

Alton Brown uses sweet potatoes to make waffles. He also has a good cabbage recipe called “Shred, head, butter and bread”.

Roasted carrots are a treat.

FWIW,
Rob

18

Heat a little minced garlic in a skillet with some oil - don’t let it burn - and toss in a can of Great Northern beans and a little bit of crushed red pepper. When it’s all good and hot, throw in handfuls of washed and shredded escarole, kale, Swiss chard, or whatever other crisp green lettuce-y thing you have on hand. Stir over heat until it’s all wilty, then stir in a tablespoon or two of balsamic vinegar. Eat it by itself, or with good Italian bread, or tossed over some pasta. Sprinkle with lots of Parmesan cheese, if you like.

You can buy pre-peeled and cut sweet potatoes, rutabagas, and butternut squash sometimes at places like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. I toss them into a zippie bag with a little olive oil, fresh black pepper and garlic powder, shake them up til the veggies are coated, and then bake them on a cookie sheet (without the bag, of course) at about 350F until they’re nicely soft and a little singed and crispy at the edges.

If you’re at Trader Joe’s for the above, look for the refrigerated packages of pre-cooked lentils, too. Toss some with a little lemon juice and garlic and oregano and heat them in a saucepan for a side dish. If you add some cooked pasta and feta cheese, or scoop it into pitas with some shredded lettuce and plain yogurt, it’s an entree.

Asparagus is pretty good on a George Foreman grill., especially if you toss it with a little bottled Italian dressing beforehand. You can also do slices of squash, zucchini, potatoes and.or peppers that way.

Green peppers, onions, mushrooms and sliced tomatoes, sauteed together with some minced garlic and a good dollop of dry vermouth, is fantastic, as a side dish with meat or over rice.

19

One word: ratatouille.

Heat some olive oil in a skillet, toss in some sliced onions and chopped garlic. Once they are carmelized, chunk up some eggplant and zucchini (yellow crook necks are good too), leave 'em cook until about half done, chunk up some tomato and slice some mushrooms, add some sweet basil, oregano and thyme, turn the heat low and simmer until done (about20 minutes to half an hour).

With a wok dutch oven, this can be done on a grill or campfire.

The lowly onion can be eaten as a veggie dish on it’s own too.

Slice up a couple of onions in a shallow casserole dish, layering them. Dot with butter, salt and pepper and drizzle some honey or maple syrup on them. Bake for about 45 minutes or until they are browning on the top. This goes well with pork dishes.

(So I lied about it being one word :slight_smile: )

20

That’s similar to a breakfast dish I make. Chop an onion, crush some garlic, dice a potato, fry some bacon. Start the potatoes in the microwave oven. Chop the bacon and set aside. Start cooking the onion and garlic in the bacon grease, then add the copped bacon and the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. When it’s about done crack a couple of eggs on top (don’t break the yolks) and cover until the egg whites are set. Serve with Tabasco sauce. If I had red and/or green peppers I’d dice them and add them too.

I cook wedged onions and apples in butter. Season with a little cinnamon. Great with pork.

I don’t think I’ve eaten anything like that. Where’s it from? Does it have a name?

Sweet potatoes and peppers? Sounds weird! (I like sweet potatoes – preferably the white ones, as opposed to ‘yams’, but they’re good too – baked and eaten with butter.)

Some of you have suggested roasted vegetables. As I said, it never comes out as yummy as when other people make it. I guess I’ll have to practice.

silenus: Tell me more about not peeling the squash.