Vegetable Recipes
My mother liked to cook a variety of fritters, with leftover holiday ham or turkey but in the summer she prepared delicious squash flower or corn fritters which were more like savory pancakes and inspired this recipe.
I taught skills classes at the CIA for years and always looked forward to preparing Cauliflower Polonaise with the students... cauliflower cooked in a 'blanc', strained and then served with a buttery breadcrumb sauce of brown butter, Italian parsley, lemon zest, and chopped hard-boiled egg-absolutely delicious.
I learned to butter -roast root vegetables while practing for the CMC exam. Sweet, caramelized root vegetables folded into mashed yukon gold potatoes is amazing! The key is to cover a heavy, roasting pan with foil to achieve a delicious, golden caramelization of the roasted parsnips... and a lot of butter!
My mother loved serving this delicious salad of tender green beans, olive oil, vinegar & tons of fresh mint. She used to add a small amount of breadcrumbs to the dressing which helped the vinaigrette stick onto the green beans. A great childhood memory!
I taught skills classes at the CIA for years and always looked forward to preparing Cauliflower Polonaise with the students... cauliflower cooked in a 'blanc', strained and then served with a buttery breadcrumb sauce of brown butter, Italian parsley, lemon zest, and chopped hard-boiled egg-absolutely delicious.
I've enjoyed poached and baked eggs with deliciopus, vegetables such as this all over Europe. This recipe is a wonderful brunch menu item which takes a little time to mise en place but will impress your friends and family.
I like growing kale, chard, escarole etc.. in my garden. I cover the leafy vegetables with cloth row covers in the hot summer or cold winter so that these plants last for over a year, reproducing & I can prepare healthy, delicious salads, soups, etc...
Cooked Brussel sprouts are delicious with a sweet & horseradish taste-almost like wasabi. I use an abundance of boiling, salted water so that the sprouts are tender & still have a nice green color.
Bok Choi & Asian Cabbages are slightly sweet, Escarole is a little more bitter, Kales & Chards have a slightly earthy flavor and are great with bacon; all of these leafy vegetables are absolutely delicious raw in salads, sauteed as a side vegetable with ginger, garlic, scallions & olive oil.
Chef Ehlmer challenged our class to prepare ratatouilli... with confidence! put a rondeau on the fire, as the rondeau heated, peel/pare and dice 3 onions, 5 red bell peppers & 5 cloves of garlic-add olive oil to the rondeau and begin sweating the vegetables. (seasoning as you cooked) The point was to cook with passion and confidence! And Fast! Then, in the time it took for the vegetables to soften & develop flavor, we had to wash, pare and dice 4 zucchini, add to the sweated vegetables… then add 2 diced eggplant and then 8 peeled & seeded tomatoes and finally basil... I naively volunteered for the challenge & was able to accomplish my first ratatouille-got an A!