Making veggies taste good!

[LittleDrops]

My exDH used to do most of the cooking, good wholesome, healthy meals. Now that I am single, I do eat well, but struggle to get my 5+ per day. The mainstay of my diet is fish, handfuls of veggies and very rarely some fresh chicken. I don't like meat much but can't do lentils or beans due to my guts.

I see a lot of great advice on MN about how to add more veg to meals, but no one ever mentions whether there is a sauce or dressing to taste. A lot of salad and veg is rather uninspiring alone, so I am curious as to what you all use to pull together one of these infamous 'huge salads' or when you pair a plate of veggies with lean meat. Do you just eat the vegetables as they are, or add something?

I don't have a lot of experience with cooking, so would love some tips.
My typical dinner might include mackerel, broccoli, green beans and spinach, but what would you add to this to bring it together? I use herbs and spices but still struggle to make a basic plate of veg exciting.

One-off my favourite veg dishes is roasted Mediterranean vegetables. Peppers courgettes red onions aubergines baby tomatoes and whole garlic cloves. I mix them with basil olive oil salt pepper and balsamic vinegar. I usually buy the pre cut packets and then add extra red onion and tomatoes or anything else that might be needing used up in the fridge. Roast for 30 /35 mins. Sometimes I just do the roast tomatoes.
Love them served over pasta with a tomato sauce. Obviously you can make up your own way to serve them and make up your own preferred mix of veg.

Warm salad is lovely. Fry onions, peppers and tomatoes in oil and balsamic, bit of sugar. Then pour onto a leafy salad. Add goats cheese or mozzarella if you want.
could also add steamed butternut squash or broccoli 👌

I can't always be bothered making my own dressings
Two that I really like are Wagamama house dressing and mellow yellow honey and mustard

For a tray of roasted veggies, salads or tray bakes a drizzle of olive oil and a capful of some sort of vinegar, balsamic, red wine, white wine, apple cider or sherry vinegars are all nice.

Right now I'm doing sliced courgettes, which I'm colouring in olive oil, scooping out and draining on kitchen paper, frying finely chopped onion and garlic quickly, putting the courgettes back in and a bit less than half a tin of chopped tomatoes to bubble down. Oregano and salt and pepper to taste.

It will go with duck breast (fried quickly skin side down to crisp and then roast at 180 for 8 minutes - I like it pink) and mashed potatoes.

I know you said you don't like sauteed vegetables but it's hard to get flavour in with plain boiling or steaming, though you can add butter and sugar.

Or roast vegetables, that works.

I just finely chop the mint but I'm sure pummelling it in a pestle and mortar would be good, or as a pp said add a spoonful of mint sauce.

Just snip the fresh herbs with kitchen scissors

i buy spice mixes and sprinkle onto cooked vegetables. I get them from Caribbean/ African shops, or you can find some in supermarkets in the ‘foreign’ foods section. I also have Indian chutneys and pickles with most things.

I can't stand waterlogged veg, if it it boiled/steamed I like it with a good amount of crunch still.
Roasting veggies (for me) brings out tonnes of flavour! Also I make super veg type sauces, so sautee any veg you have. Add tinned tomatoes and lots dried herbs and blend, freeze and use as a base sauce for stews and stuff

A bit of tahini sauce drizzled on roasted veg with herbs is excellent. As are toasted seeds.

Thank you again, i will be returning to this thread for inspiration!

I once tried a roasted traybake with mediterranean veggies and feta cheese (which was added later) and it came out waterlogged. Not sure where I went wrong there. I think it included peppers, courgette, mushroom, sun dried tomatoes. Another version I made with baby potatoes and again - waterlogged.

I can make a mean cottage pie with no issues so can't work out what goes wrong. sadly I don't like cottage pie or shepherd's pie:(

Don't add mushrooms OP. Loads of water comes out of them!

With oven-roasting veg make sure every slice has its own space on the roasting tray, not touching others. That's how you stop them getting waterlogged.

I love soy sauce, lemon juice or sesame oil for flavour. Most green veg only need a quick turn in the pan over some heat. I prefer there to be crunch when I bite!

Will follow your advice, thanks :)

How about mashing them up with some potatoes. I put sprouts, carrots and whatever we have. Make in to rounds and dry fry or oven. Can have with beans if don't want meat eith them. Some lovely ideas on here.