Fresh, seasonal, and locally grown vegetables arrive at the farmers markets at their prime time of tastiness. These vegetables are also at their highest nutritional value and provide athletes with flavorful, low-carb fiber and fuel. Training athletes need a well-rounded supply of micronutrients, and eating a variety of vegetables supports this need.

These six seasonal side dishes make eating a rainbow of produce delicious and simple. Each recipe has only a few ingredients, making them a quick and easy pairing for any meal.

6 Seasonal Side Dishes for Summer

[Photos courtesy of Kari Lund]

Smoky Roasted Cauliflower

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Yield: Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon smoked salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Toss cauliflower with oil and salt and arrange on a baking sheet.
3. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once partway through roasting.

Coriander Carrots

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Yield: Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• ⅛-1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• ⅛ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
• Sprinkle of garlic powder

Method:

1. Toss all ingredients together.
2. Stir fry in a small sauté pan on medium high heat until tender crisp, about 5-10 minutes.

Sesame Broccoli

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Yield: Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 small heads of broccoli, chopped into florets
• 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 Tablespoon tamari, soy sauce, or coconut aminos
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine oil, tamari, garlic, and sesame seeds in large bowl.
3. Toss broccoli in oil mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Place on a baking sheet and roast 15 minutes, turning once halfway through roasting.

Garlic Asparagus

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Yield: Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends trimmed off
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Toss asparagus with olive oil.
2. Add garlic, salt, and pepper and toss to coat.
3. Sauté asparagus for about 10 minutes until tender-crisp

Grilled Corn With Herbed Butter

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 ears of corn, husks and silk removed
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• Sprinkle of salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 Tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 Tablespoon fresh chopped herbs (cilantro, parsley, chives, etc.)

Method:

1. Heat grill to medium heat.
2. While grill is heating up, brush ears of corn with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Grill corn 4-5 minutes on each side.
4. While corn is grilling, mix herbs into the softened butter.
5. Brush herbed butter on ears of corn just after removing from grill. Serve immediately or cut corn kernels off the cob for adding to fresh salads.

Mushroom and Manchego Green Beans

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Yield: Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cremini or mixed mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 12-16oz fresh green beans, ends trimmed
• 1 green onion, roughly chopped
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons manchego (sheep’s) cheese, finely shredded
• Ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

1. In a medium saucepan, boil enough water to cover beans. Once water is boiling, add green beans and cook until tender-crisp, about 4-5 minutes.
2. Place oil and mushrooms in a medium-sized frying pan and sauté until the mushrooms give up most of their moisture or even start to crisp a little.
3. Add chopped green onion to the mushrooms and stir.
4. Once beans are cooked, drain and add them to the pan with the mushrooms and onion.
5. Toss with salt and pepper.
6. Top with grated manchego and serve.

More delicious summer veggies:

Greens on the Grill: Miso Buttered Baby Bok Choy

The post 6 Seasonal Side Dishes for Summer appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

After just three years of life, my daughter Maddie-Ane had developed a hearty disdain for salad. And it’s unsurprising with how they are put together most of the time.

Vegetables Are King

Getting enough nutrient-dense food in is crucial for anyone’s diet. This is my first Breaking Muscle article in a while and frankly, my views haven’t changed much. I still believe you need to prioritise eating enough vegetables over worrying about food timing or the latest diet craze from Milan.

Vegetables deliver complex carbohydrates for your macro needs, and plenty of vitamins and minerals for your micro needs. But before you get the blender out, let me stress the importance of dietary fibre being in the mix as well. Fibre is essential for gut health, ensuring nutrients are transported through the body at the right pace instead of being rushed through in a smoothie or health shake. It’s also crucial to have some chewable substance to your food to prepare your body for effective digestion and to cue the brain to accurately interpret the calories consumed.

With this in mind, this month I’ve turned my attention to jazzing up the humble salad – and even Maddie-Ane has given her seal of approval.

Celeriac Remoulade

Coleslaw is a popular salad for most people, and remoulade is a great favourite of mine at the moment. This recipe is very good with cold cuts, or as a side for steak or pork.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• ½ celeriac
• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tsp chopped capers
• 25g chopped cornichons
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• Juice of half a lemon

Method:

1. Peel the celeriac with a sharp knife, cutting off the tough knobbly outer. Using a mandolin or sharp knife, cut into very thin slices, then shreds.
2. Put the celeriac into a bowl with the capers, cornichons, mustard, lemon juice, and mayonnaise. Stir together and serve.

“Kind Of” Indian Salad

This recipe is essentially an exercise in making something exciting from ingredients available from convenience stores. I live in the middle of nowhere and managed to get everything I needed for this. If you want to reduce fat content in your diet then you can use low fat yogurt. The idea of using yogurt as a base for salad dressing is true for the other recipes too.

Ingredients:

• ½ cucumber
• 1 large carrot
• 1 red onion
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• Fresh coriander (optional)

For the Dressing:

• 2 tbsp plain yogurt
• Juice of half a lime
• 1 tsp mint sauce
• ½ tsp cumin seeds or ground cumin

Method:

1. Halve the cucumber lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon.
2. Slice and place the cucumber in a bowl. (This stops the salad going sloppy.)
3. Peel the carrot with a peeler to make long ribbons.
4. Peel and slice the onion and add the lot to the bowl along with the tomatoes and toss together.
5. Now make the dressing. In a small bowel put the yogurt, lime juice, and mint sauce. Then if using cumin seeds, toast them a little in a dry pan then add to rest of the ingredients and mix. If you use ground cumin, just add it with the other ingredients.
6. Put the dressing in the salad bowl and toss it all together, finishing with a few fresh coriander leaves.

Oriental Bean and Radish Salad

I haven’t yet bothered to Google the definition of salad, but I think this one edges towards being a vegetable side dish. But we’re all friends here, and you can always let it cool to eat later.

Ingredients:

• 200g French beans (or whatever pod legumes you can get.)
• 8 radishes
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 knob of butter

For the Dressing:

• 1 Tsp soy sauce
• 1 Tsp balsamic vinegar
• ½ tsp Chinese 5 spice powder

Method:

1. Put a large pan over a medium high heat, add the butter and lightly crush the garlic clove. When the butter begins to foam, add the beans. Cook for 3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile finely slice the radishes with a sharp knife or mandolin. When the beans have taken a little colour, add the 5 spice powder and toss.
3. Remove the pan from the heat then add the soy sauce, vinegar and half of the radishes, tossing it all together.
4. Transfer to your serving dish of choice, then top with the remaining radishes.

Beetroot, Orange and Almond Salad

The name of this recipe is pretty much the ingredients list, but there is a lovely little trick in the dressing. I really like beetroot as a food, and considering I am a kettlebell guy the obvious Russian link is always worth a nod. Beetroot is great for you, but some people don’t find it very palatable – pairing beetroot with fruit can really open up the door to liking it.

Ingredients:

• 200g cooked beetroot (not pickled)
• 1 large orange
• 1 tbsp flaked almonds
• A few fresh mint leaves

For the Dressing:

• 1 tsp ground all spice
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar

Method:

1. Peel the orange by cutting off the top and bottom with a sharp knife then work your way around, cutting off the skin. There may be some juicy flesh still on the skin. Don’t waste it -squeeze the juice into a glass and add to the dressing.
2. Slice the orange and the beetroot and put into a bowl.
3. Lightly toast the almonds in a dry pan and add to the bowl.
4. Mix all of the dressing ingredients with the orange juice, then dress the salad. Top with a few mint leaves.

More Like This:

• Veg Doesn’t Have to Be Boring: Basic Prep Skills + 5 Side Dishes
• 3 Recipes to Get Your Kids Excited About Vegetables
• Why You Need Phytonutrients and the 4 Best Places to Get Them
• New on Breaking Muscle UK

Photos courtesy of Tim Harrison.

The post Salads For Athletes: 4 Recipes to Boost Your Nutrient Intake appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

When it comes to salad dressings, think homemade, natural, and simple. Remember, the more you monitor the ingredients in your meals, the more control you have over your body’s performance. The two recipes I’ve included below pack in some extra protein and are also easy for your body to assimilate, making them a perfect choice for pre- or post-workout meals.

Healthy Salads Have Layers

Before we think about dressings, let’s go over some salad basics. The first step to a healthy salad is to layer it well:

1. Start off with a good mix of nutrient-dense greens, such as baby kale or baby spinach (the baby leaf options contain more nutrients and don’t require chopping).
2. Add a rainbow of veggies. Chop up some bell peppers, green onions, carrots, beets, and cucumbers and toss them in.
3. Complete the meal with a protein of your choice. Lean proteins like grilled chicken or fish create a perfect post-workout meal. If you need a vegetarian or vegan option, add tofu, along with some chopped almonds or pepitas for extra crunch.

High-Quality Ingredients Support Performance

Now choose a dressing that compliments the flavors of the salad without destroying the nutritional goodness you’ve just created. Below are two healthier versions of the typical store-bought dressings you may find lurking in your fridge. Opt for these homemade dressings to cut down on added sugars, preservatives, and excess fats.

The first option is a vinaigrette dressing. Lemon juice and apple cider vinegar provide the acidity. In addition, the antibacterial properties of apple cider vinegar aids digestion,¹ and has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity.² I’ve used olive oil as the base for this recipe, but grape seed oil is another good choice.

The second recipe is a substitution for the all-American favorite, ranch dressing. Fresh dill delivers that classic ranch flavor, while Greek yogurt replaces high-fat options like buttermilk or mayonnaise. The yogurt also provides extra protein, making this a perfect dressing for a post-workout salad.

These homemade dressings are ideal to have on hand for meals throughout the week. And as an added bonus, they can also be used as marinades or dipping sauces.

Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

This light vinaigrette uses apple cider vinegar and lemon juice for acidity.

Yield: ⅔ cup

Serving size: Approximately 2 Tablespoons

Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• ¾ teaspoon finely chopped basil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch of sugar
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together everything except the olive oil.
2. Continue whisking while slowly pouring in olive oil.
3. Serve over salad greens.

Creamy Dill Dressing

Greek yogurt provides protein without excess fat and fillers.

Yield: ½ cup

Serving size: Approximately 2 Tablespoons

Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon chopped dill
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• ¼ teaspoon lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder

Method:

1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients.
2. Whisk together to thoroughly combine.
3. Serve over salad or as a dip for crudité.

You’ll Also Enjoy:

• 2 Healthy Dressings That Won’t Ruin Your Vegetables
• Want to Cut Down Recovery Time? Eat More Plants
• 5 Simple Ways for Meat Lovers to Eat More Vegetables
• New on Breaking Muscle Right Now

References:

1. Jung A. “13+ health benefits of apple cider vinegar.” Kitchen Cabinet Cures (Reader’s Digest Association Books).

2. Johnston CS, Kim CM, Buller AJ. “Vinegar improves insulin sensitivity to a high-carbohystrate meal in subjects with insulin resistance or Type 2 Diabetes.” Diabetes Care 27 (2004): 281-282.

Photos courtesy of Kristina Goldman.

The post Revamp Your Salad: 2 Dressing Recipes for Athletes appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Purslane as Food

Purslane, also called Portulaca oleracea, is a plant we consider a weed in the United States and it is found in most gardens. Believed to have come from a desert in North Africa, it has aggravated gardeners around the world because it can be rather invasive. It spreads out before it gets taller, so it can cover quite a bit of ground. I’m sure you have unknowingly seen it growing next to sidewalks or in gardens.

I’m not a fan of the term “superfood,” but compared to things like kale, quinoa, and acai berry, purslane deserves a mention. (I’m still not sure why kale is so popular. After all, as comedian Jim Gaffigan says, it tastes like bug spray.) Purslane, like every “new” diet idea, has actually been done before. People have been eating this plant for hundreds if not thousands of years in places like India, Turkey, and Greece.

A 100g serving of purslane boasts:

• 300-400mg of omega 3s (as ALA, alpha linolenic acid)
• 1.9mg of beta-carotene
• 26.6mg of vitamin C
• 14.8mg of glutathione

The omega 3 content puts purslane at the top of the list among veggies in the leafy green category. And glutathione is an important antioxidant, as is beta carotene. The beta carotene content in purslane is roughly equivalent to that of carrots, which are considered a primary source of the nutrient.

“Purslane, like every ‘new’ diet idea, has actually been done before. People have been eating this plant for hundreds if not thousands of years in places like India, Turkey, and Greece.”

Now, I’m not arguing one food over another. Purslane can be a great addition to a diet with an already large variety of vegetables. Environmentally speaking, it is much less damaging since it grows naturally in our backyards. It tastes similar to a peppery arugula, but has a bit thicker consistency as it carries a lot of water in the stems.

3 Ways to Enjoy Purslane

1. Cut it into small pieces and use to top salads and coleslaw. The thicker, smoother texture is a nice complement to thinner greens.
2. Sautee it with other veggies like broccoli, onion, and pepper and add it to an omelet in the morning.
3. Use in stews and slow-cooker soups to thicken the broth. Purslane is high in pectin, which will help thicken liquid. It will also soften quite a bit and taste similar to sautéed spinach.

Note: After you’ve picked your purslane, always soak it in cold water for five minutes and pat it dry before eating. Since it comes from patches outside, who knows who or what touched it.

Now Go Outside and Get Some Free Greens

And that’s it. There are no exotic ways to use this “weed.” It can go in just about any recipe that needs a touch of flavor or a thicker texture.

Note: Foraging can be a lot of fun, especially when it means getting free veggies out of your backyard. But before you get too adventurous, be sure to find a class or someone who knows what to look for as we all know that eating plants from your environment can be dangerous.

More on green nutrition:

• Had Enough of Kale? Try These 5 Powerful Leafy Greens Instead
• 2 Healthy Dressings That Won’t Ruin Your Vegetables
• Tips and Tricks for Healthy Shopping on a Budget
• New On Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. “Common Purslane,” United States Botanic Garden. Accessed July 17, 2015.

2. Simopoulos, A P, H A Norman, J E Gillaspy, and J A Duke. “Common Purslane: A Source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Antioxidants,” Journal of the American College of Nutrition 11, no. 4 (1992): 374-82.

3. Zhou, Yan-Xi, Hai-Liang Xin, Khalid Rahman, Su-Juan Wang, Cheng Peng, and Hong Zhang. “Portulaca Oleracea L.: A Review of Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Effects,” BioMed Research International: 1-11.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Purslane: The Unexpected (and Free) Nutritional Green appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Vegetables are often endured rather than enjoyed. I believe this hints at the key. If you can enjoy eating vegetables rather than tolerating them as a necessary evil, you are on the road to success.

Cooking Is the Key

So why aren’t people enjoying their vegetables? “Because they’re horrible!” No, although in some cases the perfectly uniform, immune-to-seasonality supermarket offerings are less flavorsome than the gnarly, still-got-some-dirt-on-them farm shop options. But I digress. Vegetables are the essence of freshness and are usually packed with complex natural sugars. How is that not yummy?

“If you can enjoy eating vegetables rather than tolerating them as a necessary evil, then you are on the road to success.”

Because vegetables are being handled wrongly. In a lot of cases, the go-to method for cooking is boiling, which is rarely the best option. It tends to leach out flavor and color. You’ve probably seen the green-hued water going down the drain. That wasn’t just the beautiful color you poured down the drain – it was the flavor and a fair few of the essential nutrients, too.

In this article, I will show some of the techniques to creating better vegetables and share a few appealing side dishes for your repertoire.

The Basics: Cutting an Onion

After a brief online chat with the Queen of the Swing, Tracy Reifkind, I’ve decided to start at the beginning. She said she loved the picture at the top of my Facebook page, which is me chopping an onion for a guacamole. Chopping an onion correctly is a perfect real-world place to reconnect with your food.

Here’s how I dice an onion:

1. Cut the top off, the point end, and leave the root intact.
2. Place the cut end face down on your board, then cut in half through the root.
3. Now peel your halves and set the halves cut-side down on your board.
4. Make multiple cuts from root to tip all of the way through to the board, allowing the root to hold it all together. That’s why I left it on, you see.
5. Cut width-wise at right angles to the last cuts, and voilà.

How to Blanch an Onion

The next step is blanching. To some this may seem like an unnecessary complication, but it has many functions and is the main difference between domestic and professional vegetable cooking.

Blanching comes from the French word blanc, which means white. Rarely are you actually whitening anything, but more avoiding altering its color. That basically describes one of the process’s functions. Blanching sets the color of green vegetables, making them appealing to the eye. After all, the first taste is with the eye, and the more we stimulate our senses with food, the more satisfying it is.

“Blanching sets the color of green vegetables, making them appealing to the eye. After all, the first taste is with the eye, and the more we stimulate our senses with food, the more satisfying it is.”

Blanching is also referred to as “parboiling.” The partial boil starts the cooking process, which allows further processes to be more thorough. It has another benefit, in that it leaches out bitter flavors that can turn people off some vegetables like sprouts, chicory, broad beans, and so on. (Although on a more advanced note, bitter flavors are useful to offset saltiness.)

So how do we do this trick? Easy.

1. Bring a large pan with plenty of salted water to a rapid boil. There needs to be enough water so that the addition of the vegetables doesn’t drop the temperature too much. As far as salt is concerned, Italians have a typically poetic guide for salting blanching water. They say it should be as salty as the waters of the Mediterranean ocean. But that little bit of lyricism doesn’t provide me with any actual insight as I have never been there, so roughly half a teaspoon per pint is fine.
2. Drop in your trimmed vegetables and boil for 2-3 minutes.
3. Immediately transfer the vegetables to either a bowl of iced water or set them in a colander under running cold water. This is to cool the vegetables as quickly as possible, thus halting the cooking. Then drain to remove excess water.

From here, knowing how to brown vegetables is a simple little bit of knowledge that can make meal times a lot more pleasant. Brassicas – which are your cabbages, all of the broccoli family, and Brussels sprouts – have a lot to gain from a little browning. This idea is often illustrated with the popular idea of frying blanched cabbage or Brussels with bacon.

To brown the vegetables, all you need to do is chop and blanch the vegetables as above, ensuring they are thoroughly drained and evenly patted dry with a clean tea towel. Then quickly sautée them in a pan with a little butter just before serving. This is also an opportunity to add a little flavor if you like. Garlic is always a welcome addition.

Continue to Page Two for Five Recipes

1. Blanched Broccoli

This easy broccoli recipe is a perfect accompaniment to a simply cooked piece of fish (I’ll get into fish cooking next month). This is my go-to technique for all greens, especially the mysterious farm shop finds like rainbow chard or sprout flowers.

Ingredients

• 1 head of broccoli
• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 1 clove garlic
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Trim the florets off the broccoli and chop them down to roughly the same size. Then – waste not, want not – peel the woody outer surface off the stalk and slice the stalk into pieces about as wide as a gambling chip.
2. Drop the prepared broccoli into the boiling water for two minutes. Then drain in a colander either under cold running water or, better yet, in iced water. Then drain again. It can now be left until a few minutes before dinner (which, incidentally, fits with resting time nicely. Remember last month’s article!)
3. A few minutes before dinnertime, put a sauté pan or wok onto a high heat. When hot add a bit of oil and throw in your drained broccoli. Now cover and leave for two minutes. Don’t touch it so it has a chance to catch some yummy charred bits.
4. Lift the lid and add the chilli flakes, crushed garlic, and a little butter. Give the pan a shake and replace the lid. Leave for another minute before serving.

2. Perfect Glazed Carrots

Okay, on to carrots. Boiled to death or left a bit crunchy (“al dente”), they are a staple on many dinner tables. But there is another better way.

Unlike green vegetables, carrots are a bit too substantial for a quick blanch to make much of an impact. But boiling has the same problem in that some of the flavor is leached out into the water and thrown away. The technique I’ll show you captures any lost flavor in a little butter so it stays as a glaze. Delicious. This method is easy, but takes a while, so get them on early.

Ingredients

• 1 lb carrots
• 1 desert spoon (2 teaspoons) butter
• Salt and pepper to season

Method

1. Put a wide based pan onto a medium-low heat.
2. Prepare the carrots by scrubbing clean and top and removing the stalks, then cut them in half along the length. Lay them cut side down and slice on the diagonal into about half-inch pieces.
3. Put the knob of butter and a desert spoon of water into the pan along with the prepared carrots. Put the lid on and leave for 45 minutes. Check after 5 minutes that the temperature isn’t too high. They shouldn’t be sizzling or getting any color.
4. When cooked, season and serve.

3. Celeriac Puree

Celeriac or celery root purée is a sophisticated alternative to mashed potatoes. The slightly aniseed taste enhances pork and red meat to no end. Plus it’s pretty simple. The same technique works well with cauliflower, too.

Ingredients

• 1 celeriac or celery root, peeled and roughly chopped
• Milk
• A knob of butter
• Salt to season

Method

1. Put a saucepan onto a medium heat. Add a knob of butter and the chopped celeriac. Cook for five minutes stirring regularly. It should start to brown a little.
2. Pour in enough milk to cover. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes, until tender.
3. Blend it all with either a stick blender or in a food processor. Add a pinch of salt, then taste and add a little more if necessary.
4. That will be perfectly sufficient, but if you’re feeling posh, pass it through a fine sieve.

4. Mushroom Stew

I’m on a roll now, so here is another amazing and versatile recipe. Just this week alone I have served this with chicken breast and, on a separate occasion, a pork tenderloin. Both were quickly seared then gently poached in this aromatic awesomeness.

This also makes a great vegetarian meal by swapping the chicken stock for vegetable stock, adding a big bunch of spinach, and serving on wholemeal toast. Mmm, I think I will now I’ve said that.

Ingredients

• 25g (about 1oz) dried mushrooms (I used porcini, but a mixed bag would also work)
• 200g (8oz) button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoons chilli flakes
• 1 liter (about 32oz or 4 cups) chicken stock
• Butter for frying

Method

1. Boil the kettle, then put the dried mushrooms into a small bowl and cover with boiling water.
2. Toast the fennel seeds in a large frying pan until fragrant. Tip them into a pestle and mortar along with the garlic, chilli, and a little salt. Pound into a coarse paste. Put the pan back onto the heat.
3. Put a little butter into the hot pan. Add the paste and fry for a minute. Add a little more butter and the button mushrooms. After a few minutes when the mushrooms have browned a little, take the rehydrated mushrooms out of the water and add to the pan. Don’t throw away the liquid, but instead tip it slowly into the pan. Discard the last little bit as there maybe a little grit in it.
4. Add the stock to the saucepan and bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes.
5. If you want to thicken the sauce, mix two teaspoons of corn flour with cold water. Add to the stew, stir thoroughly, and turn up the heat for one minute. Check seasoning and serve.

5. Ratatouille

I could go on and on with wonderful vegetable recipes, but I’m racing towards my deadline so I’ll finish with one more – my favorite, ratatouille. Again, it can be a meal in its own right but is also an amazing accompaniment to any dinner.

No dish simultaneously divides and unites the sons of the world’s greatest cookery nation quite like this one. Every French chef has their own definitive version that came from their grandmother, and nothing else seems to unite them in doe-eyed sentimentality quite as much as this classic dish.

Now, I’m not French, I’m British, which is why I’m going to have to say “eggplant” and “zucchini” instead of “aubergine” and “courgette.” But I have my own way of preparing ratatouille, and this also gives me a chance to share a couple of techniques I use:

• Purge the Eggplant: After slicing, sprinkle the eggplant with a little salt to draw out some of the water. Then rinse and drain. This purging process removes some of the bitterness. I would recommend this process whenever you are cooking with eggplant.
• Add the Tomato Vine: Have you ever smelled vine tomatoes in the grocery store, or even better, while they are still on the plant? Smells good, but that isn’t what tomatoes taste like, right? That’s because that aroma is in the vine not the fruit. If you add the retained vine at the end of cooking, boom – more yummy.

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant, cut into ¼ inch cubes
• 2 zucchini, also cubed
• 4 large vine tomatoes, chopped roughly and with vines retained
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, lightly crushed, left whole
• A few sprigs of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat up a large frying pan. Now put the eggplant into a colander and sprinkle with salt, then set over a bowl.
2. Put a little oil into the pan and fry the zucchini for a couple of minutes, browning each side. Set aside in a bowl. Do the same with the red pepper.
3. Quickly rinse the eggplant of the excess salt under running water, spread out on a tea towel and pat dry then fry and add to the rest of the veg.
4. Lastly, cook the tomatoes in the pan for 3 minutes, then add the garlic cloves and all of the vegetables back into the pan with the thyme and bay leaves. Cover, turn down the heat, and cook for 20 minutes.
5. After 20 minutes turn off the heat, lift the cover, season with salt and pepper, then throw in the reserved tomato vines for a minute before serving.

More Like This:

• How to Grill, Roast, and Stew Meat Like a Pro
• Do the Math to Make the Most of Micronutrients
• 7 Simple Ways to Get More Greens in Your Diet
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photo 1 courtesy of Ayton West Photography.

Photos 2-6 courtesy of Tim Harrison.

The post Veggies Aren’t Boring, Your Cooking Is: Simple Skills + 5 Recipes appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

It’s always also amazing to me that some of the only vegetables those on a Standard American Diet eat are baby carrots and celery dipped or smothered in ranch dip.

Many of you may be thinking, “Tell me something I don’t know. I already avoid those junky processed dressings,” and that’s awesome. But maybe you’re living an incredibly busy lifestyle and end up resorting to the basic olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice dressing. For one thing, that gets boring, and you also might be missing out on an opportunity to add even more micronutrients to your salads.

Here’s an easy solution to both of the above issues: make your own simple, nutrient-dense dressings and dips. It’ll only take you two minutes to combine the ingredients of the recipes below into a bowl, and it’ll save money (not to mention your health), as well. You can even make these dressings in bulk and store them in your fridge for about a week.

Here are two dressings I like to make on a regular basis that will make your salads less boring and even more nutritious.

Hummus Dressing or Dip

This hummus dressing is incredibly good and helps sneak in more beneficial nutrients from beans in your diet. Beans help control blood sugar, increase satiety, and protect you against colon cancer.

Ingredients:

• 2 overloaded Tablespoons of oil-free hummus (Engine2 or Oasis are my favorites)
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar (other vinegars would work fine too)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon or stone-ground mustard
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk together with a fork.

Smoky Tahini Dip

This recipe is particularly good as a dip, especially with steamed or grilled artichokes. Tahini is rich in minerals such as magnesium and iron. Among its other virtues, tahini also aids in liver detoxification and is a good source of calcium, healthy fats, protein, and B vitamins.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup tahini
• ¾ cup water
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 medium date

Directions:

Purée all ingredients in a blender. You may add or subtract the amount of water used to make the consistency more of a dressing than a dip.

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photos 2 and 3 courtesy of Jeff Taraday.

The post 2 Healthy Dressings That Won’t Ruin Your Vegetables appeared first on Breaking Muscle.