Top Tips For Cooking Veggies

Veganism is growing in popularity and that means that vegan dishes are also a subject of real interest to the new generation of consumers. There is often a perception that vegan food is limited and a bit dull - but in fact, it is possible to make delicious and exciting meals centered around vegetables if you follow these tips.

Veggies And Baking Soda

Cooking vegetables can be a bit of a challenge. Overcook them and they will be soggy and lifeless, which will make your veggie dish unappealing, and if you undercook them they will be tough. The best solution is to follow the example set by top chefs like Mark Threadgill.

A little baking soda keeps vegetables fresh and crisp

He adds a little bicarbonate of soda to the water when he puts them on to boil, which keeps them fresh and crisp even when they are properly boiled.

The Reasoning Behind Seasoning

The biggest challenge you will face when cooking veggie dishes for a crowd is that many people are just not keen on the taste of vegetables. A good way to add different flavours to a vegetable-based dish without losing nutrients is to season well.

Use ginger to add flavour

A good starting point is aromatic seasoning such as garlic or onions, and you can follow this up once the dish is cooking with red peppers for some spice, or fresh ginger to give it an Asian touch. Make sure you toss the vegetables in the pan well so that they soak up the flavour of the different seasonings and finish by adding some spices and herbs. Cumin blends nicely with carrots, while lemon or thyme will perk up peas.

Opt For The Unusual

If you are cooking vegan dishes, vegetables will be the backbone of them so there is no reason to just stick with the same old ones all the time. Make a point of buying a couple of vegetables you haven't tried before when you go food shopping and make them the centre of an exciting new dish. For example, if you buy broccoli rabe you can use it to make sautéed broccoli rabe with red chilli flakes, while artichokes and spinach can be used to make spinach artichoke dip. You can mix familiar and unfamiliar veggies together and create your own dish to see how they taste alongside each other.

Try different vegetables like broccoli rabe

Vegan Cheese, Please 

You may think that cheese is off limits for vegans, but vegan parmesan is out there, and you can even make it yourself with nutritional yeast. This will give another layer of flavour when you sprinkle a little over the top of your vegetable dishes. It also tastes great on popcorn!

Nutritional yeast adds a cheesy flavour to dishes

Don’t approach vegan cooking as a restrictive – use these so-called limitations to fuel your creativity. Experiment with a few of these ideas for veggie heaven!

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