Last updated on 17/02/2023
Apologies to readers who have been following this series about cooking. I have been focusing on publishing my novel and so have not worked on my posts about food and cooking. I will pick up this series again once I have finished publishing my novel. TGL 23rd January.
12th November 2022.
In this article I look at ways in which raw or frozen vegetables can be prepared for the table.
If cooking raw vegetables, we tend to boil things like potatoes, carrots, celery, and so on, but there are other ways to cook them. If you want to heat one item in the oven – such as a ready-made pie – you could also put in a tray of mixed vegetables. There is no point in heating a whole oven just for one small item, such as one pie. You could use any of the following: onions, carrots, sliced celery, parsnips, sweet potatoes, mushroom, cherry tomatoes, pieces of cauliflower – in fact whatever you happen to have in stock. After chopping the vegetables into bite-sized pieces, sprinkle them with oil. I include potatoes but I first give them three sessions of two minutes in the microwave to soften them before they go into the oven. Or boil them for not more than ten minutes, drain and the cover with oil. That softens them and they cook more quickly. Cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces, toss in one or two tablespoons of suitable oil (vegetable or olive oil) and put into a baking tray. Once mixed with the oil, add a little salt and perhaps black pepper and even a pinch of Paprika as seasoning.
Bake
You can heat the pie and the vegetables for the same length of time (about thirty minutes) at around 200 centigrade. A tasty alternative to boiled. I also keep beetroot which I buy ready-cooked and preserve in a jar of vinegar. This is a good addition to a bowl of salad. I have even used beetroot as an ingredient in cakes – with very satisfying results. Jars of beetroot in vinegar are sold in some supermarkets but I much prefer to make my own. Beetroot is a tasty and versatile root vegetable. Greens are much more difficult to work with because they are not suitable for freezing unless they have first been cooked. This is usually done by boiling, then draining and allowing to cool. I do however cook my own prawn crackers when I have the deep fat fryer on. These are small wax-like disks that swell up when put into the hot oil. Preparing these at home is much cheaper than buying them ready-made. They make a good accompaniment to Chinese dishes but also provide a tasty snack in place of crisps to which they provide a good alternative.
Next: Meat and fish.