Pimp Your Veg part 3: it’s in the pan…

 Although there are lots of eggs in this post, let me clarify that it’s actually not about eggs, but about pan cooking vegetables, sometimes with the addition of eggs!! And I use the term ‘pan cooking’ as opposed to frying or stir frying for good reason..

…because this is about cooking chopped/prepared vegetables in a pan with a small amount of oil, over a longer period than stir frying; it’s what I do on a regular basis for lunch or dinner, as an alternative to roasting if I don’t want to wait for the oven to heat up, or just for something different, and this therefore creates part 4 of my Pimp Your Veg series, hopefully bringing a new idea to how you cook your vegetables.  

I think this works well for any meal time, including Sunday brunch, and definitely for a quick, fresh evening meal, especially with the addition of eggs, and it works well with most vegetables too, there’s just a couple of tricks that might be useful..

Method/tips..

Assess the vegetables you want to cook, as some will cook faster than others, take this into account when preparing them

For example…peppers and onions will cook faster than sweet potato and butternut squash, so if you want to throw them all in the pan at once, consider that either the onions and peppers will get cooked more (which could be nice?) or leave them a bit bigger

I always chop potato, sweet potato, butternut squash and carrots into small cubes

Cut cauliflower into small florets

Cut brussel sprouts in half 

Shred cabbage 

Cut baby gems lettuces in halves or quarters 

 You get the idea 🙂 

In a wide based pan, heat a tablespoon of your chosen oil over a medium heat or spray a thin layer of olive oil in the pan 

Once it’s warmed, add your chosen vegetables and stir so that they get a coating of oil, then leave to cook

Stir every so often to ensure the pieces cook all the way throw, but don’t agitate too much 

You may want to use a splatter cover to protect your hob/stove 

Once the vegetables show signs of starting to cook through, add some spices, seasoning and/or sauces of your choice, whatever you fancy to add flavour. Don’t add them too early to ensure that they don’t get burnt

Add green leafy vegetables once everything else is almost cooked through so that they don’t get overcooked 

I sometimes add some of my own harissa, or seeds and chopped nuts, or some dukkah to add some crunch 

A note if you are cooking cauliflower:

Add it to the pan and cook in the oil initially then add some water to the pan and put a lid over it to cook the florets; you are basically creating some steam to cook them through, then remove the lid and continue to pan cook to get some colour and flavour into the cauliflower   

 If you’ve got various vegetables to use up, throw them all in together! 

If you want to add a egg or two, make a well in the vegetables and break the eggs into the pan and cook 

Maybe add some cooked grains and heat them through with the vegetables  

I have to be honest, I then tend to eat it all straight from the pan! Saves on washing up 😉  

    
  Be brave: see what vegetables you’ve got and chuck them in a pan to cook whilst you make whatever else you’re having. For me, this is my entire meal, a kind of ‘hash’ I guess, for you it might be a side dish, either way, enjoy!