RSSThe Best Vegetable EVER!!
November 13th, 2008 by Dawn, Co-founder of Rouxbe
The other day we went shopping at Granville Island (our local farmer’s market). We stopped by the organics place and I picked up some gorgeous flat-leaf kale. I was actually on the hunt for collard greens but I couldn’t find them.
Now, I have cooked kale several times, but I usually just sauté it quickly - simple and delicious. But this time I decided to braise it. I first sautéed some onions and then I added some garlic.
After that I added the chopped up kale and sautéed it for about a minute. At this point it was already fantastic. But as much as I wanted to stop here, I continued on. I added some of my homemade chicken stock, covered it with a lid and let it cook.
A few minutes later I lifted the lid to give it a stir and I noticed the beautiful green was no longer there. I felt bad, not just for me, but for the kale - it looked kind of sad - like I was slowly killing it. I figured that I had already gone this far, so I might as well put it out of it’s misery, so I covered it back up and let it cook for a total of 45 minutes.
Once it was ready, I put a little bit of kale into a bowl for Joe and I. I took it outside (yes it is now what seems like, the middle of winter and we were sitting outside having dinner - what can I say we are crazy Canadians eh!)…anyways, we each tried a piece of kale, almost hesitant at first…yet simultaneously we both said “holy cow, this is the best vegetable EVER!”
Click here for the full text recipe
So what’s your favorite vegetable, and what’s your favorite way to prepare it?
Ciao for now, Dawn
Kale! I like the stock idea. I too usually just toss it or perhaps steam it. Damn nutritious too, packed with everything good for you…ever (I MAY be exaggerating haha)
I’ve been thinking of vegetables all day and I keep coming back to fresh green beans and fresh corn on the cob with lots of butter as my favourites. In Southern Ontario they had roadside stands where you could buy hot buttered corn in the fall. Great memories! I think the corn was better there because they have hotter weather than BC. I also love the grilled asparagus and the roasted cauliflower recipes on this site. Any roasted veggies are great - onions, carrots , parsnips , peppers, mushrooms. I have a roasted onion recipe that I always make as a side dish for our tradional prime rib Christmas Eve dinner. You cut 8 small onions in half keeping the stem end intact. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in skillet and sprinkle with 1 tsp sugar. Add onions, cut side down and cook 8-10 minutes until they start to brown. Arrange in baking dish and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1 tsp olive oil. Pour 1/4 cup water in skillet, bring to boil and stir to scrape up the brown bits. Pour over onions. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover with foil and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Turn onions and bake another 45 minutes, turning once more. These can be refrigerated up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before baking 15 minutes longer.
I feel lucky to live in a place (BC, Canada) where we can get a great variety of vegetables at a reasonable cost.