Truth
stop boiling your vegetables, America!
About the only veggies I boil these days are greens, veggies in soups, and potatoes if I’m making mashed potatoes. Other than that, I roast, sauté, or grill them. People are used to some veggies tasting awful because they were probably boiled. Try roasting parsnips some time with a bit of olive oil and garlic.
March 10th, 2011 at 10:22 am
Broiling/roasting root vegetables can really surprise someone that is used to long-cooked mooshy veggies.
Broccoli shouldn’t be like jello. Many veggies really only need to be cooked until warm. Steamed is healthier than sauteed, but sauteing can add a remarkable depth of flavor to so many veggies.
I grill every veggie that I can get away with grilling.
Roast a corn cob on the grill along with red pepper. Remove corn from cobb. Dice the pepper. Add scallion and fine diced carrot. Adding a vinaigrette or a cream sauce makes this an excellent side dish to accompany grilled chicken breast.
March 10th, 2011 at 11:07 am
Sometimes I like “boiled” corn, but really it is barely blanched. One of the best recipes is to put the corn in cold water and heat to boiling… when the water boils, it is done. But only occasionally, generally I prefer grilled in the husk, yummy!
March 10th, 2011 at 11:41 am
Blanching or scalding?
Artichoke hearts. Bring water to raging boil. Put in artichoke hearts for maybe a minute. Take out. Store the ones you will not be eating now in the freezer.
The ones you’ll be eating now … what’s your pleasure? By themselves, with olive oil, lemon, salt, feta, and crusty bread? In an omelet? In the oven with meat, potatoes, and onion in a tomato sauce?
March 10th, 2011 at 11:44 am
PS
Artichokes are seasonal up here. My mother would buy several crates, clean them, scald them, and then freeze them so we have them for the year.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
I don’t see what’s wrong with boiling veggies if done right. I’ll cook pork, chicken, or beef and then in the water and meat fat/juice, I’ll boil the veggies with a little added seasoning. A little curry, hot pepper, and a bit of salt and it’s super delicious. It’s a tasty and afterwards I have a broth for other things, which sometimes include drinking it straight because it tastes really good.
Perhaps people have this impression of unseasoned veggies in tap water cooking for an hour with tasteless mush as the result. I admit that this is what I was fed numerous times growing up. I decided never again.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
I dunno about you rebels, but I steam my greens, and I use a smoked turkey leg as my steamer basket. : )
March 10th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
If done right, boiling is just fine. But “right” includes the acknowledgement that some veggies simply cannot be boiled and still be good.
It also depends on how they’re being used. I’ll throw a handful of frozen chopped veggie mix (usually carrots, peas, onions, and maybe a couple of other things) in with the water for the rice if I’m making a quick rice dish – it’s a good one-pot meal or two, and the veggies help add flavour to the rice. But I use veggies whose flavours hold up to boiling pretty well.
March 10th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Firstly, I’ve tried many recipes for brussel spouts to no avail. But I will admit, I did not use bacon. Bacon might work as it is the miracle food.
Boiling is okay, just not till it’s dead. Veggies should be cooked through to transform the inedible starches otherwise you are losing 40% or so of the calories. But that 40% often does not pass quietly.
Mustard greens are very good and peppery in a salad. They make a good substitute for arugula in pasta recipes or just wilted with pasta like spinach, etc. No need to boil them.
March 11th, 2011 at 5:57 am
I’ve always preferred my vegetable via herbivore.
March 11th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
If your veggies don’t crunch when you eat them, you’ve cooked them too long….