Written by Olivia Barrera
It’s no secret that eating enough vegetables can be hard to do. We know from the MyPlate visual that fruits and veggies should compose half of our daily food intake. That’s because fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins and minerals as well as the body’s Scrubbing Bubbles: fiber! Many people enjoy vegetables raw, steamed, or with minimal seasoning while others may not like veggies in any way they have tried them. Regardless of where you stand, we could all use ideas for making vegetables a little more interesting. Continue reading for techniques to make veggies tempting and delicious!
The first method for making vegetables taste good is inspired by Samin Nosrat, chef and author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: roasting them at high heat to the point of caramelization so that the vegetables’ natural depth of flavors and sweetness can be enjoyed. Another step to achieve crispy vegetables is by spreading them out on the pan. This method ensures your veggies aren’t crowded which would cause them to steam rather than roast. It is also recommended to bake different vegetables on separate pans because they have differing cook times. This way you can remove vegetables from the oven as they finish, leaving hardier vegetables to cook longer. As always, recipes are not set in stone, feel free to add spices and seasonings that you and your family love to further optimize the flavor of your vegetables!
Using Samin’s principles of simple roasting, the perfect roasted cauliflower can be made as follows:
Chop 1 whole cauliflower into steaks, florets or both
Spread evenly on one large or two small baking sheets (glass and metal baking sheets both work)
Drizzle with 1-1.5 tablespoons of oil
Sprinkle with 1/2-1 tsp salt and, optionally, pepper to taste.
Rub the cauliflower using your hands to evenly distribute the oil and seasonings.
Bake for 35-40 minutes at 425, flipping halfway through
Samin Nosrat’s recipe for Roasted Vegetable and White Bean Salad can be seen here. It includes a homemade shallot vinaigrette recipe as well!
Another method of making vegetables taste good is to use a glaze while roasting. Glazes include a minimal amount of sticky sweetener (like honey, maple syrup, or sugar) to help the vegetables along with the caramelization process. Here is an example using a mustard-maple glaze on red cabbage!
Glaze ingredients:
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup mustard (yellow, Dijon or grainy mustard will work)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- Pepper to taste
Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl using a fork.
Note: taste the finished glaze and adjust to your liking, add more mustard for saltiness or more maple syrup for sweetness.
Cut your cabbage in half then cut halves into approximately 6 wedges each for about 12 wedges total
Using your fork, spread about half of the glaze on top of your wedges
Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, turn over and spread remaining glaze on the other side of wedges, then bake for an additional 15 minutes.
To further enhance the vegetable-eating experience, try dipping in a homemade sauce!
Creamy Tahini Dill Dressing from Detoxinista
3-Ingredient Tahini Sauce for Everything from Minimalist Baker
4-Ingredient Garlic Dill Sauce from Minimalist Baker
If you are trying to include more vegetables in your diet, try our tips for making veggies taste good!