Eating vegetables doesn’t have to be a struggle. It is possible to make veggies on your list of favorite foods. Learn the cooking techniques that will make vegetables both healthy and delicious.
Sautéing
Sautéing is a quick and easy way to cook vegetables over high heat with relatively little oil. Sautéed vegetables retain their vitamins and minerals, as well as taste and colour. This method is best suited for tender vegetables such as asparagus, baby artichokes, snow peas, sweet peppers, onions, and mushrooms.
Stir-frying
Stir-frying is done over very high heat, and the food is constantly stirred to prevent it from burning on the hot pan. It’s often done in a wok, the classic utensil of Chinese cooking. But you can also stir in a sauté pan, as long as the bottom is thick enough to distribute the high heat evenly.
Boiling
When you want to retain the flavour and crispness of vegetables such as green beans or broccoli, wait until the water is at a full boil. Toss in the vegetables and cook them quickly. But boiling vegetables causes them to lose some of their nutritional value. The best way to minimize that nutrient loss is to make sure that they spend as little time as possible in the boiling water.
Steaming
Steaming cooks vegetables without submerging them in water, so they are more likely to retain vitamins and minerals. It doesn’t require oil, so it’s a great way to prepare vegetables if you’re watching calories. The best vegetables for steaming include broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, leafy greens like spinach, and other relatively tender vegetables.
Braising
Braising is a cross between steaming and boiling. In braising, you only add enough water to cover about half the vegetables. It's usually quicker than steaming.
Roasting
Roasting vegetables such as asparagus, squash or onions is as simple as putting them on a baking sheet, drizzling them with little vegetable oil, and popping them in a 400-degree oven. Roasting helps preserve vitamins and minerals, and flavours that can be lost with boiling. It also gives vegetables a unique flavour. Cooking them slowly in the oven helps them caramelise a little bit, bringing out their natural sweetness and enhancing their flavour.
Grilling
Like roasting, grilling locks in flavour and caramelises the surface of vegetables, giving them a crispy sweetness. It’s a great way to prepare corn, sweet peppers, zucchini and other squash, onions, potatoes, and a variety of other vegetables
Making Vegetable-Based Sauces and Spreads
Vegetables feature in many classic sauces and spreads. Invest in a good food processor, which makes vegetable-based sauces and spreads much easier.
Cooking vegetables, like any other food, is a skill. You have to know which cooking technique suits the vegetables you are about to cook.
Wonder why it’s better to choose fresh, organic food? Check this out.