veggie side dish boredom... assistance please!

Hi. In warmer weather, I am all about a large variety of salads. In colder months, I am getting really tired of my vegetable tried-and-trues. In addition, I am trying to increase my veggie vs carbs ratio. So. Here are my current veggie treatments:

Green beans with almonds and butter.
Broccolli with pine nuts, raisins, garlic, and parmesan.
Broccolli with sesame seeds, spicy sesame oil.
Zuchinni with basil and parmesan.

I am not really a "evoo+salt+pepper" minimalist. I eat my green veg somewhat grudgingly. My husband is more of a "potatoes are a vegetable" person and would exist on meat and carbs. So, please, share your standbys and (warm) veggies faves. But no brussels spouts. (I really have tried to like them, to no avail.)

Thanks!

I have one word: Soup.

It'll blow your ratio right out of the water.

Simmer some broccoli in water or stock and blend it with a little milk and some herbs, and you'll consume more broccoli than you would be able to if it was steamed on a plate. Hot veggie-puree based soups in the winter are a standby for me and often can become a meal in themselves.

Best,
Michael

Some indoor veggie cooking favs of mine have been:

Roasted Cauliflower

Boiled/steamed califlower covered with bread crumbs browned in butter

Cauliflower gratin

Blanched veggies (snap peas, asparagus, broccoli, etc) with blended dressing of toasted sesame seeds, rice vinegar, soy and honey

Speaking of cauliflower, here is a relevant thread.

I would experiment with gratins too. They don't have to include starchy vegetables.

Winter greens like kale and collards are great this time of year and also work well in simple preparations.

Get a good Indian cookbook and look for veggie dishes. One of my favorites is saag, greens (usually spinach and/or chard and/or kale and/or mustard greens) cooked with ginger, chilies, and other spices. Yum.

Or do a Chinese or Chinese-like stir-fry with a combination of vegetables: carrots, onions, brocolli, snowpeas, mushrooms.

Or a Turkish cookbook. One of my favorite ways to eat green beans is in the classic (and, in Turkey, ubiquitous) preparation with onions and tomato.

Lots of yummy possibilities.

I understand that you're eating more veggies because as you try to decrease the number of simple carbs in your diet. You mention green vegetables, but remember that other brightly colored veggies (orange butternut squash, red tomatoes, etc.) are also great for you!

If I'm roasting a chicken, I'll just throw handfuls of veggies (whatever I have in the kitchen) into the bottom of the pan...mushrooms, broc, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and, yes, even the dreaded brussel sprouts.

I know you say you don't like the idea of veggie + olive oil + salt, but I'd have to ask how you're preparing them. Tossed together, adding an herb (such as rosemary with asparagus) and roasting under the broiler can produce a great dish. And it works with so many veggies...asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, squash, carrots, etc!

Baby bok choy simmered/steamed in a little chicken broth (preferably low salt)...add a dash of sesame oil if you want to make it a little more Asian.

Beet salad with feta: There are tons of recipes out there (such as this one: http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/reci ... salad.aspx) and I guarantee these ain't your mother's beets!

Molly Katzen's baked kale: Even if you never thought of kale as an edible vegetable, this is a great snack that's irrestistable http://www.vegsource.com/mcdrecipes/messages/12292.html

Roast butternut squash soup: I'll echo eatchicago's recommendations. Even some of the grocery-store versions of this soup are terrific.

a decade or so ago a version of this dish turned me, a former pea-hater into a pea-luv-ah

fave veggie side:

frozen hot capicola, prosciutto, or bacon coarse-chopped(freezing it makes this easier)

fat rendered in saute' pan until meat is slightly crispy(I like a bit of chew)

dash olive oil

frozen sweet peas quick saute'

salt/pepper

spritz fresh lemon juice

To amend what CG just said: Just try pan-frying your veggies in pork fat. You'll like them much more.

I eat a lot of glazed carrots in the winter when greener things are less available. There are loads of recipes out there, but I basically cut them into a sauce pan, add butter, fresh lemon, sugar and S/P...and let it cook covered for a little while, turning to coat. They look great on a plate.

Even though you wrote

I am not really a "evoo+salt+pepper" minimalist.

, I really recommend roasting veggies with these 3 ingredients for side dishes. As mentioned above, cauliflower and beets do well with this preparation. Roasting cauliflower at 450 for 45-60 minutes gives them a great little char and wonderful flavor. Roasting beets brings out their sweetness (just last night I roasted some beets in the same oven as my chicken roasted). I also will second the suggestion for soups. Pureed vegetable soups are a staple for me during the winter.

Daisy11 wrote:Even though you wrote

I am not really a "evoo+salt+pepper" minimalist.

, I really recommend roasting veggies with these 3 ingredients for side dishes. As mentioned above, cauliflower and beets do well with this preparation. Roasting cauliflower at 450 for 45-60 minutes gives them a great little char and wonderful flavor. Roasting beets brings out their sweetness (just last night I roasted some beets in the same oven as my chicken roasted).

I'll second this. I roasted brussels sprouts last night, sliced in thirds, tossed with oil, S&P. They were delicious. Crunchy on the outside, soft and sweet in the center.

Also, the braised cabbage from "All About Braising", is oustanding (if you have two hours).

Best,
Michael

I think you should give your veggies a promotion; make your meat (if any) the side dish:



(Dish and photo by Antonius, from this post:)
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=102837#102837

You could up the spice ante and do a cauliflower in a curry-yogurt sauce, with some frozen peas tossed in at the end of cooking.

For a filling veggie dish, I like to braise chopped escarole with a couple slices of prosciutto at low heat in chicken stock for about 40 minutes and add canned cannellini beans during the last few minutes of cooking.

For a quicker cabbage-steam chopped cabbage and onions for a few minutes-toss in a saucepan with a bit of butter, apple cider vinegar, salt & pepper.
For a more involved red cabbage: braise with duck fat, red vinegar, bay leaf, s&p, sliced onions, and a bit of sugar.
For something a little Frenchy, with roasted meats: sear whole Belgian endive in o.o. and butter-season w/ s&p-splash with some Balsamic, finish in oven until tender.

Two words: Brussels sprouts. You can still find 'em at Dominick's.

As much as I hated them as a kid, in all their boiled, sulphur-y stinkiness, I love them now. (Incidentally, overcooking--i.e. boiling them limp--is what causes the release of that stinky, unpleasant flavor.) Feed, the restaurant, changed Brussels sprouts for me forever. I ordered the lemon pepper 'sprouts on a whim one night, half expecting to be grossed out of eating them, but knowing I needed a 'good' vegetable to go along with the fried okra. They were delicious--diced into a green and white confetti, pan-grilled in a hot cast iron skillet, doused with enough lemon to give them an earthy tartness.

Most recently, I had the 'sprouts at Terragusto, where they were halved and roasted with potatoes and a balsamic glaze. Scrumptious.

They're ridiculously easy to prepare--wash, trim stem, cut in half (or cut in half and slice crosswise into a 'confetti'), toss with olive oil and salt/pepper. I roasted a batch last night for about 15 minutes in a 450-degree oven. Finish with a squeeze of lemon to brighten the flavor, or drizzle with balsamic and roast another 5 or 10 minutes for a sweet/earthy flavor.

A little Wiki wisdom: someone holds the Guiness record for speed-eating 44 Brussels sprouts in one minute. I wouldn't necessarily want to share a bed with that person, but it is impressive.

Though we usually have two veggie side dishes at dinner, I also like sneaking veggies in when people are unawares:

Colcannon - I use frozen collard greens with regular mashed potatoes, and add cheddar cheese if I'm feeling unhealthy. Could eat it all day. It's easy to add frozen spinach to almost any pasta or egg dish - you may need to thaw & drain it, but I usually don't... Adding beans to rice is another: crowder peas or blackeye peas from the freezer can be thrown in when you start cooking the rice.

oh cool- thanks so much for the myriad of ideas!

I think I forgot about the existance of cauliflower entirely. And the escarole thing sounds great. And the suggestion for peas, which I don't really dig, but my husband does. Especially with bacon.

Thanks again, I'll be trying these soon, and making some soup, which I also forgot about somehow... we just got into a rut of meat+veg+starch.

I also want to encourage the brussels sprouts trying againing

Clean, and cut in 1/2. Heat a pan with some olive oil. Put in the cut Brussels, face down. They will caramelize. When they start to smell a bit charred (but don't burn) flip them over, and let them cook on the back side.

Serve with salt and pepper. If you must, toss with some parmesan. Mmmm

Carrot curry style is very easy:

Put olive oil into pan, warm up, toss in your curry spices (of course, whole spices are best, but curry powder will do) and toast.
Cut carrots into diagonal slices, put into pan. Add OJ to almost cover, add water to cover. Toss in some raisins, chop in one banana, and cook until carrots are soft.

Since you like broccoli you should also try it drizzled with sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds and wrapped in foil and baked at 400 for 30 minutes. It's a nice prep for asparagus as well.

Rudy wrote:Since you like broccoli you should also try it drizzled with sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds and wrapped in foil and baked at 400 for 30 minutes. It's a nice prep for asparagus as well.

see: o.g. post

Sorry if I repeat somthing already said - read the posts, but my mind is like Swiss cheese - lots of holes.

I'll third or fourth the Brussels spouts. I love them carmelized in the pan, and in the oven. Cauliflower in the oven is great, too. I did some in large wedges last night - I used a macadamia nut oil I have. High temp, like 450 or so. Oh, covered them first for maybe 10 minutes or so to steam, then took off the cover to roast - maybe 35 minutes total. Some people really like them carmelized to the point of blackness - not me, though.

You like the broccoli/pine nut thing - try it with spinach, roasted pine nuts, raisins. It's quite good.

The glazed carrots someone else mentioned are good. I did some with apple cider - they turned out delish.

Like others said, don't forget squash and sweet potatoes. I don't like the recipes that call for sugar and sweetining them but you might. I truly prefer them as is, just with lots of butter.

We also love a modified Indian-style green bean dish. Steam some green beans until they are a minute or two less done than you like them (I prefer fresh, but you can use frozen). Then, in a wok or large sautee pan, put in some canola oil until hot. Add some crumpled up dried hot peppers and mix for a minute. Then, add some mustard seeds - a tablespoon or two. When they start to pop, add the green beans and stirfry for a minute or two. Can add garlic if you want, too.

I'll also add my vote to soups. Great way to get veggies in. If broth based, you don't need to add any starches. I'm making some bean soup tomorrow - beans are soaking tonight.

Whatever you try, let us know if you come up with any exceptional verisons of anything!

This isn't a hot dish, but it's so simple to make and delicious that I make it year round. It has carrots, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, cumin, paprika, and fresh chopped parsley

Sweet Carrot Salad - Cooking Light, March 1997

http://food.cookinglight.com/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=438499

Satuéd Zuchinni with Sage and garlic

add sliced sage leaves mixed with some finely chopped garlic, butter and EVOO, S&P in the last min of the satué.

We had it tonight but I tried rubbed sage and I'm going back to fresh
(miss my sage bush in the winter...)

I've lost twenty five pounds since July by eating lots of protein and vegetables and staying moderately low on carbs. The holidys got me out of my groove, but I only put five back on and I'm starting to settle back into my routine.

Right now I'm pretty maxed out on cabbage, spinach, and Brussels sprouts, but enjoyed them greatly over the last couple of months. Lots of great sounding versions above.

I recently re-discovered chayote squash. It's a little more hearty than yellow or zuchinni, and a nice change of pace. Last time around I sliced it up, sauteed it briefly with some onion and added a cup or so of my frozen tomato fondue with basil leaves, made from Nichols' heirloom tomatoes this past August. Cover and steam for a bit until crisp-tender.

Another dish I did repeatedly back in tomato season was a sort of an American take off on eggplant parmesan where I dredged medium thick slices of eggplant in seasoned flour and then dipped the slices in whipped eggs. I sauteed the eggplant in olive oil until golden and arranged it in a baking dish in alternating layers with more of Nichols' tomatoes, sliced medium thick, and lots of shredded sharp cheddar. Baked the casserole for an hour of so, uncovered, in a moderate oven until the tomatoes broke down and became more concentrated in flavor and everything was bubbly. Simplicity was the key to our enjoyment of this dish and I can't wait until August rolls around.

Broccoli rabe is also a nice change of pace, right Antonius and Amata?

And I recently did a quick, half hour version of Southern style green beans, with a couple spoonfuls (ok, three or four maybe) of bacon fat, a little water, S&P, cover and simmer for a half hour until completely soft and tender. Simple, quick, and really enjoyable.

Another moderately low carb dish is a quick, Eastern European-Jewish style sweet and sour cabbage. Simmer veal or beef neck bones, or some flanken cut short ribs in water and canned San Marzano tomatoes, broken up. When the meat is halfway cooked, add cold packed sauerkraut and continue simmering for about an hour, or until the kraut is nice and tender. Sugar or brown sugar is traditional, along with golden raisins, but for my lower carb version, I sweetened it with equal and really enjoyed it. TLD thought it was ok too.

And here is my version of a really tasty bulghur-lentil pilaf:

1. Soak a cup or two of medium bulghur in a large quantity of water for an hour or two. Squeeze out the excess water.
2. Simmer the same amount of French green lentils in chicken stock or water with a peeled onion, peeled carrot, a few whole celery stalks, and a bay leaf until just tender. strain and cool on a cookie sheet. Discard the veggies.

(These two steps can be done a day or even two ahead of time.)

3. When ready to proceed, saute some brunoise cut mirepoix in butter and olive oil until softened. Add the drained bulghur and lentils, moisten with a small quantity of stock or water, and gently heat until piping hot. Salt and pepper, lots of chopped Italian parsley and you're there.

I don't think anyone in this post has mentioned rutabagas. They are really difficult to cut up, but worth the effort. Cut them into smallish pieces, toss them with olive oil, salt & pepper and roast them in a 450 oven for 45 - 60 minutes, turning once or twice so they don't burn. They carmelize nicely and are absolutely delicious.

I've also done this with turnips, but I like the rutabagas better.

Suzy

sdritz wrote:I don't think anyone in this post has mentioned rutabagas...

Suzy,

Nice, simple recipe. They hadn't been mentioned yet here but there's a thread on them that I started:
I Love Swedes
____________
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=77049#77049

*

Emdub,

There are a bunch of vegetable recipes listed with links in my little index, to be found here (scroll down toward the bottom):
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=55649#55649

*

Evil Ronnie,



Ecco: ri nuosti begli friariegli


Antonius

I personally love spinach, especially baby spinach. Not only is it delicious as a salad green, you can sautee it briefly in olive oil, add some salt, pepper and shallots (if you like) and enjoy it as a hot side dish.

I also really like baby bok choy, which you can get at regular grocery stores thesedays. Otherwise, any market in Chinatown carries them. You can sautee them in a little oil for a minute and then add a few tablespoons of water before covering them to steam for a few more minutes until they're just wilted. That'll spice up your veggie selection!

I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, but stir fries are a great way to get a lot of veggies all at once. Since you're cutting back on carbs, you could do brown rice ... or some kind of noodle (sorry, I don't know about any low carb noodles!)
I usually just make up stir fries according to what I have, but there are millions of recipes out there.

If you still are eating pasta etc., a way I add in some veggies to things like mac and cheese is to toss in a bag of baby peas or chopped broccoli; adding spinach to a spaghetti dish usually incorporates well. Last night to our pasta puttanesca I added some spinach to the cooking water just as the pasta finished. It was great and blended well with the capers, tuna, lemon and parsley sauce.

You can use yolkless noodles which are much lower in calories, though probably not carbs. By themselves they don't have much flavor but I find they're good with stir fry.

sdritz wrote:I don't think anyone in this post has mentioned rutabagas. They are really difficult to cut up, but worth the effort. Cut them into smallish pieces, toss them with olive oil, salt & pepper and roast them in a 450 oven for 45 - 60 minutes, turning once or twice so they don't burn. They carmelize nicely and are absolutely delicious.

I've also done this with turnips, but I like the rutabagas better.

Suzy

Rutabagas are wonderful. I usually make what the Scots call "bashed neeps," which is simply mashed rutabagas with a bit of butter, salt, and pepper. Yum. Just peel and cut up, then simmer until mashable (you don't really need to drain them, unless you used lots of water, because you need liquid to make them smooth when you mash them). Season and eat. I have been enjoying them for the last couple of weeks, as they have been abundant in the store. They have a lovely sweetness to them, but a cabbagy savoriness, too. Better stop and get more on the way home tonight!