Best way to make vegetables on the side more interesting

[Allthelols]

We do eat lots of veg but more often than not I just steam it.
I pan fried the stem broccoli with chilli flakes then lemon juice last week and the teens went wild for it.
What else can I do?
Have tried roasted cauliflower and it didn’t go down well.
Roasted carrots and parsnips in maple syrup is ok.
Wondering how to make cabbage,beans and leeks more palatable?

Any top ideas?

Simple.

Garlic and butter.

Cheese

I was going to say butter but that's not very healthy lol.

You could do green veg with garlic, ginger and sesame.

We do cauliflower roasted with Indian style spices eg cumin, tummeric, chilli

Cabbage can be nice with wine vinegar

We had some left over cooked white cabbage which we chucked in hot oven with a diced random red pepper. Surprisingly delicious.

And yes, most things are improved by garlic /ginger/soy sauce /or any combination of them.

Lemon juice and salt on greens

Cook white cabbage in stock with chopped onion and bacon. Gorgeous.

Not particularly healthy but gorgeous... fry leeks til soft, add a little cream and curry sauce, heat through.

Stir fry broccoli with soy sauce.

A friend of mine tosses her carrots in butter flavoured with star anise but I prefer my carrots plain.

Mashing swede and carrot together makes them so much more tasty than just chunks

Pointy cabbage - quarter, brown cut side in butter and rapeseed oil, then turn around, add salt, chili flakes and maple syrup and oven roast.

Hugh F-W’s book called Veg Every Day is my go-to - lovely recipes.

Creamed cabbage and leeks

Butter with veg, particularly green veg IS healthy actually. A lot of vitamins in the veg are better absorbed by your body if you eat them with some fat. Butter and garlic is a winning combo!

Add bacon

Try different spices- ginger can be nice with carrots, smoked paprika works with a lot veg. The trick is to enhance the flavour rather than over power it. Balsamic vinegar is another good one to experiment with.

I like a tiny bit of soy sauce on my cabbage.

There is a book by Ed Smith (on social media/blog site as Rocket and Squash www.rocketandsquash.com ) called "On the side" which is all about making side dishes more interesting. It is really well organised and you can search via the side vegetable you have, the main dish you're making or method of cooking - so lots of ways into the book if you see what I mean...
www.waterstones.com/book/on-the-side/ed-smith/9781408873151

[[https://www.birdseye.co.uk/recipes/pea-recipes/minted-green-peas Minted peas]]
Braised cabbage
Celeriac mash

Flat beans - I slow braise in tomatoes and olive oil and add feta. We often have it as a main dish - perhaps with bread - but equally works well as a side with lamb or fish ..
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/23/braised-green-beans-with-tomatoes-and-onions-recipe-rachel-roddy-kitchen-in-rome

Cabbage - I often do sweetheart cabbage nam Jim
www.waitrose.com/home/recipes/recipe_directory/c/chargrilled-cabbagewiththaistylenamjimandpeanuts.html

Leeks/fennel/celeriac/potato I often gratin up...

A mustardy vinaigrette over broccoli or French beans goes very well.
I agree with roast cauliflower as per Meera sodhi with turmeric , chilli and cumin and squeeze of lemon afterwards.
Braised lettuce or spinach with a little onion softened first and peas is classic and delicious.
Sweet potato wedges with smoked paprika and a squeeze of lemon
Roast parsnips or carrots
Mushrooms cooked down in a very little butter with thyme , squeeze of lemon and a spoonful of crème fraiche as an optional extra
Fennel ,celery or leeks in white sauce with breadcrumbs on top to make a gratin; cheese optional
Yotem O does a lovely aubergine recipie with oregano and anchovies that goes well with meat
Celeriac remoulade
Griddled baby courgettes halved or halved little gems or aubergine slices, can be dressed with olive oil or a little honey

Do they have to be interesting though? A sister hated veggies - couldn’t stand them. It wasn’t until she left home that she realised that raw or steamed were lovely.

Roasted broccoli with chilli and garlic is incredibly moreish.

Love the sound of the grilled pointy cabbage recipe upthread.

I often just roast root veg with a bit of smoked paprika and salt and then add a bit of feta towards the end.

Cauliflower roasted with a sprinkling of parmesan and garlic powder is delicious when you can't be bothered to make cauliflower cheese.

I like green beans with a sprinkling of flaked almonds and a squeeze of lemon juice.

A restaurant near us does a spinach and talleggio side dish that's pretty delicious too.

Spinach and talleggio? Tell me more!

Toss cauliflower in grated parmesan, crushed garlic and olive oil and roast. The Green Roasting Tin is a good veg book.

Cabbage and lemon
Beans with piripiri
Leeks In cheese sauce

@KittenKong

Spinach and talleggio? Tell me more!

I think the spinach must be steamed til it's properly wilted, and then the talleggio melted through it, maybe with a bit of cream and salt stirred through...it's not what you'd call light!!

Just found a Rachel Ray version although the one I've had doesn't look quite as runny/creamy as that:

www.google.com/amp/s/people.com/food/rachael-rays-creamed-spinach-with-taleggio/%3famp=true

Ooh these are lovely ideas thank you all so much
We had ‘creamed’ leeks tonight basically softened in butter with a bit of left over sour cream and chive dip in!
Will try the green bean stew tomorrow and def go with just spicing things up a bit more. Also love the vinaigrette idea.
Happy to have plenty of plain steamed veg too but it’s great to mix it up.

Thank you!

Combine brocolli and cauli florets to make a mustardy cheese sauce bake.
Roast squash and sweet potatoes with nigella seeds, turmeric and chilli powder.
Mashed potato with finely chopped spring onion, good grated cheddar and a teaspoon of English mustard.

I second myrtle's suggestion of On the Side! Brilliant book, and great for when you want a piece of relatively plainly cooked protein with something "on the side". Or sometimes I make two or three "side" dishes to make a veg-based dinner.

DD's favourite is lightly steamed Savoy cabbage that I then pan fry with bacon and butter.

Butter is fine, everything in moderation and all that!