Vegetable sides?

[BrassicaBabe]

I'm SO BORED of frozen peas!

I need some vegetable inspiration for days like today... stuffed chicken breast, jacket potato and....?

I'm trying to increase the vegetables in our diet. I find it quite easy on recipes like chilli, curry and spag Bol etc. You can sneak a whole bunch of veg in. But when looking for a simple vegetable accompaniment I am struggling!

Recommendations, suggestions or book ideas gratefully received!

Some of my favourites:

Grilled Corn on the Cob:
Brush corn with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill until it's slightly charred.

Honey Glazed Carrots:
Roast or steam baby carrots until they're tender. Toss with a honey glaze made from honey, butter, and a pinch of salt.

Steamed Broccoli:
Steam broccoli florets until they're vibrant green and slightly tender. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese or a drizzle of lemon juice.

Lightly steamed purple sprouting or normal broccoli with a bit of lemon butter (put lemon zest with a knob of butter into the microwave then drizzle over, or if wanting less fat, just squeeze fresh lemon juice and zest over the lightly steamed veg.)

Same treatment - with those long flat beans cut into 5cm lengths or trimmed french beans.

Or rainbow chard tossed in a pan with a bit of garlic and lemon juice

Or Kale - cut out the spines, chop roughly, toss in a bit of oil with optional chilli flakes and garlic, roasted in the oven with sea salt until crispy but not burned.

Or red cabbage, slow cooked in a bit of red wine or vinegar with caraway seeds, red onion, a bit of brown sugar and salt.

Or roast mediterranean veg - just chop red and yellow peppers, courgettes and red onion into chunks, toss in a tablespoonful of oil with some garlic paste if you like it and roast for 30 mins. Add cherry tomatoes and chunks of aubergine and butternut squash if you want this as a main course without meat.

Home made slaw

Grate carrot cabbage and onion and a dollop of mayo

For almost anything

You have frozen sweetcorn as the no hassle alternative to frozen peas !

Here you go, @BrassicaBabe:

https://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes

(Endless free recipes. You don't even have to buy anything!)

Thanks you! This is great. I was in a total rut and mind blocked 🤦‍♀️

We have lots of roasted veg as someone else suggested. Peppers, tomatoes, shallots, squash, carrots and whatever else roasts well.

We also roast tenderstem broccoli in garlic, chilli flakes and olive oil.

Most stuff feels more interesting when it's not boiled or plainly steamed if everyone's getting bored.

Whole roast cauliflower

The French are good at jazzing up veg. I like to add a bit of garlic and butter to peas, green beans and spinach. Also roasted veg.

I like 'pan roasted' broccoli particularly tenderstem.
Fry broccoli with salt/pepper whatever until some bits are browned. Then put in a splash of water, put the lid on and steam for a couple of minutes. Much quicker than using the oven

Any sort of roasted veg. What do you have lying around or what is on offer in the about to go off section of the supermarket? Anything can be roasted.

We also do a lot of greens - sauteed savoy cabbage, sauteed kale, spring greens, etc.

If you have the space, plant some kale in the garden this year. Even if you have a flat with space somewhere for a planter, you can plant kale. It will grow all year round and means we always have greens for a meal for 'free' and not needing to constantly buy it at the supermarket.

I'm watching this thread with interest as I need to make a meal plan.

@Wordless

That's a great website! Thanks for recommending it!

IF you want to keep it simple, steamed carrots/broccoli/cabbage/cauliflower, corn etc are all nice and easy. A bit of butter and salt makes them a million times better.

Other options (beyond the great ideas already on this thread) :

A quick veggie stir fry with whatever veg you have that might work - n our case usually onion, carrot, tender stem broccoli and baby corn - flavoured with some lime juice and soy sauce.

Cauliflower and broccoli cheese

Roasted cauliflower seasoned with your preferred spices.

Chargrilled greens - leeks, cabbage, cavalo nero, spring onions or whateverver you have etc. Can be served plain but I like to make a dressing by adding some garlic, lemon and honey to the pan just before they're done.

Similarly, mange tout are great just fried in a dry pan for a few minutes with a bit of olive oil after. Goes especially well with things like fish I find.

Honey and cumin roasted carrots.

Mashed butternut/sweet potato.

Asparagus with lemon butter

Fried mushrooms.

Lightly dressed rocket - under rated as a nice accompaniment to a lot of meals.

Briam
Miso braised leeks
Cowboy caviar
Pesto asparagus
Ottolenghi green bean salad
Wok fried greens
French, peas, carrots and lettuce
Stuffed mushrooms

I cook cauliflower, green beans and cabbage (separately) like this too. I love a little brown or char on veg and the steam makes them tender.

I love cauliflower and eat it puréed instead of mashed potatoes.

Oven roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower florets.
Mix florets in a bowl with a bit of olive oil, ground salt and pepper, and roast at 220 for about 10-12 minutes until just starting to char.
Also works well with tenderstem broccoli.
This was unashamedly nicked from someone else on here many moons ago!

Pan fried green beans
Couple of chopped garlic cloves, chopped fresh ginger, gently fry in sesame oil and butter, add green beans. Toss around for a couple of minutes.
String beans work well, but French beans should be fine.