THE RELUCTANT GOURMET COOKING COMMUNITY

[chefbear]

I can come up with an almost infinite amount of variety of entree recipes, but for the life of me, I can never come up with many side dishes. I would love to see some recipes in this section for your favorite vegetable side dishes.

Anyone?? :roll: :wink: :lol:

[jfield]

Hi, chefbear.

Here are some side ideas for you:

Broiled tender vegetables (asparagus, green beans, etc)

Toss vegetables with olive oil, kosher salt, pepper and whatever seasonings sound good (lemon zest, minced garlic, a favorite spice blend). Spread in one layer on a foil covered baking sheet. Broil on high with the food about 6 inches from the heating element until crisp-tender, tossing once during the cooking process. Total cooking time should be about 5-7 minutes. If you want, squeeze a bit of lemon or lime juice over vegetables when they come out.

High-heat baked not-so-tender vegetables--potatoes, beets, winter squash, parsnips, carrots, etc.

Wash and cut into uniform sizes, whether in wedges, chunks or discs. Use the procedure from above and bake at 425 on foil wrapped baking sheet (I use Reynold's Release. It is a magical product) until vegetables are crisp on the outside and soft in the centers. Turn once during cooking. During the last 3-4 minutes, sprinkle on some grated cheese if you like. Total baking time will vary depending on vegetable used and size you choose to cut them. For reference, a large baking potato cut into 12 wedges takes about 30-35 minutes.

I don't have any measurements for you--I've never measured, but I will say that, with these 2 recipe templates, you can create tons of variety in your sides. I especially like to use potatoes for high-heat baking. I've tossed them with smoked paprika, cajun seasoning, chili powder--whatever sounds good or will go with my main meal.

Enjoy :D

[chefbear]

Thanks alot Jenni,

Your idea on the high temp baking is what I usually do with the butternut squash and potatoes (with some onions, garlic and rosemary). I never tried the broiler though and look forward to trying that. :lol:

chefbear

[ninjabut]

This is alot better than the one in all the magazines. Uh Oh, yu'll have to leave out the bacon for it to belong here on the vege board.

Ingredients:
4 slices bacon (delete for vege meal)
1/4 c olive oil
1 lb baby potabella mushrooms, sliced
1/2med onion, choped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2c slivered almonds
1 (10.75oz) can condensed cream of mush soup with roasted garlic
3/4 tsp salt (optional
1/3 tsp white peper
2 (15.5oz) cans French cut geen beans (or a couple of bags of frozen)
1 c shredded cheddar ceese

Preheat to *375
Fry bacon til crisp, drain
Add olive oil, add onions, garlic mushrooms, add white pepper.
Add bacon if OK
Gently add Green beans, stir, then transfer to a baking dish.
Bake, uncovered for 30 min in the preheated oven. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Return to oven for 5 min or til cheese is melted. Let stand 5 min before serving.

[chefbear]

Jenni,

I took your advice and branched out a bit. I tossed califlower & broccoli florets with EEOV & Herbes de Provence and roasted them for about 25 minutes. The flavor was out of this world. I have eated steamed, boiled & nuked versions, but the roasting brought out flavors I never knew existed in these two vegetables. Now I'm on a mission to experiment with other ones... :lol:

[jfield]

Nice, chefbear! Roasting does tend to concentrate the flavors, and the caramelization adds new dimensions. Yay for roasting veggies :D