Vegetable ideas please.

[Smashedavacado]

Two sons back from uni with more adventurous tastes than they used to have. We've tried quite a few new recipes for meat, fish etc but always seem to resort back to the staples - carrots, peas, tenderstem brocolli. Any ideas greatly appreciated.

Try celery as a vegetable, I add broccoli stalks sliced at the same time as the celery
www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/quick-and-easy/quick-braised-celery
Cabbage and leeks in cider, I sometimes add bacon
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cider-braised-cabbage-leek-hotpot
I've done this with sausages and also chicken thighs
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/balsamic-roasted-sausages-red-veg

Thanks... I hadn't thought of celery recipes. I was just looking at cabbage though! Unfortunately DH has a huge aversion to cider. I did find this one though -
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cabbage-bacon-onions
Also like the the balsamic sausages.
Enjoying looking at recipes and making a list for tonight's shop 😊

I make this a lot, using the basic idea but using whatever veg is in the fridge can be a meal on it's own or a side dish
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/green-garden-veg-pie

The cabbage and bacon one looks good

Celeriac- looks like a dirty, rooty ball, but has a lovely nutty flavour. You need to cut off about 1cm all over to remove the dirt and hard coating. The off-white inside can be eaten raw in a salad/coldslaw, baked or mashed instead of potato and has a nutty/mild celery flavour.

Samphire- (Tesco have it)- goes well lightly fried in butter and garlic and goes well with fish/seafood

Cauli- roasted in Indian herbs or mashed like potato

Leeks- baked with bacon, in a gratin (cheesy leeks)

Mash- any root vegetables can be used, or a combination of several. Last night I only had 2 potatoes left, so for the top of our cottage pie, I used a mash of potato, sweet potato, carrot and parsnip. Swede also works. Root veg can also be cut into wedges and baked. Made into potato/sweet potato bake with cream and garlic

Edamame peas- I buy them frozen and use as a replacement for peas, in a stir-fry or in salads

Corn kernals- either frozen of tinned. Add to stir-fry, make into fritters, in salads, cottage pie and chicken/sweet corn soup

Tenderstem broccoli/bok choy/choy sum/Any Chinese greens- steamed lightly then drizzle a sauce of soy sauce/brown sugar/sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds and/or slithered almonds

Left over fried rice, or those packets of savoury rice can be used to stuff large beef tomatoes, peppers, hollowed out courgettes, squash etc

Carrots roasted in honey.

I fancy trying Jamie Oliver's idea of baking a celeriac whole and serving it with barley and mushrooms.

His veggie book is nice, if you fancy a new cookbook.

Veggie curries are great - cauliflower is lovely in curry; also lovely roasted.

Stir fries - use asparagus, tenderstem, pok choy (sp?) etc for variety.

Salsas are easy and fun -
mango, chilli, red onion, red pepper, red chilli, lemon juice

beetroot, red onion, cucumber, lemon juice, flat leaf parsley (nice with feta)

charred sweetcorn (I just use a drained tin and char it a bit in a frying pan), spring onions, red chilli, cherry tomatoes, lime juice

Butternut squash is a big favourite here - I usually just roast it with chilli oil and a bit of oregano or thyme and garlic.

Corn on the cobs

Sliced leeks (into semicircles) sautéed with a duck tonne of butter and black pepper

Roasted Med veg - whatever you can get but mainly peppers, onions, mushrooms, aubergines, handful of cherry Toms

Wilted spinach with the aforementioned butter and pepper and a squeeze of lemon

Braised red cabbage - can make a huge quantity to freeze then add portions as needed

I think the trick is to look at different ways of preparing veg.

• braising or grilling lettuce
• stir frying cabbage
• frying Brussels sprouts
• puréeing parsnips or butternut squash
• roasting beetroot, mushrooms or tomatoes
• putting things raw into a slaw
• cooking sweet potato as wedges
• raw veg with dips etc etc

I would look at recipes from Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater and High FW for ideas.

Sorry, meant to say you don't necessarily always need new veg - you can just approach your standards differently

Thanks for all the suggestions. It's made me realize we do more than I thought especially with stirfrys & roasting veg . But lots of suggestions & recipes to follow up.

Ratatouille.
Grated courgette makes a lovely addition to coleslaw.
Aubergine parmigiana
Sliced leeks cooked in butter with a little bit of curry powder, then cream added and warmed through

I made a ratatouille last night with the odd ends of the veg box. It was so good.

The roasting tin is a recipe book often recommended on here (must pick up a copy).

Sweetcorn or courgette fritters
Grated carrot briefly microwaved with a knob of butter and wholegrain mustard stirred through
Grated courgette and crushed garlic briefly stir fried
Microwaved buttered leeks
Fennel parmigiana
Baked fennel or celery in a foil parcel in the oven
Lettuce & peas cooked together
Green beans a la Greque (with tomatoes & onions) good hot or cold.

On a day to day basis I don't tend to bother with sauces for veg, but I do think that often makes the difference. Ottolenghi has a couple of tahini-based sauces for green veg based side dishes for example that I don't usually bother with on a normal day but will do when entertaining. Using different types of herbs/spices and cooking techniques really do make even your normal veg extra delicious.

We also like to play with risottos using different veg. Not terribly exotic frankly, but generally go down well. Butternut or pea are our favourite.

Look at Middle Eastern, Indian and Chinese recipes.
When I lived in China I had garlic fried broccoli and (unfortunately named) morning glory with everything.

Cauliflower roasted with spices is delicious
Gujarati cabbage
Roasted Mediterranean veg
Bok Choi