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!
foodbod 