Cook your vegetables avoiding these trivial mistakes that ruin them

To cook vegetables in the best possible way, it is good to know what are the most common mistakes in this area in order to learn how to avoid them.

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Vegetables e seasonal vegetables, how to cook and prepare them best? Especially in spring and summer we have fresh products available in quantity, also thanks to our vegetable garden. Cooking vegetables and greens is a real art.

cooking vegetables and greens at best it is good to know what are the most common mistakes in this area to learn how to avoid them. In this way you will prepare tasty and healthy vegetable dishes. In your dishes you can alternate both raw and cooked vegetables to enjoy all the benefits of these foods.

Index

Slice the vegetables in advance

If we slice vegetables well in advance before cooking them or preparing them in salads, we risk that these foods lose some of their precious nutrients due to contact with air and light. So then it would be better slicing vegetables at the last moment, before cooking or consuming them. There are numerous tools, not necessarily electric, that can help us in the kitchen in slicing vegetables quickly and easily even when we have little time. Vegetables sliced in advance are likely to blacken if you don't season them with lemon juice.

Discard the skins and stems

Some recipes ask you to use only the best parts of the vegetables and to let go of the skins, stems and other waste parts. Especially if we cook with organic vegetables or in any case with products from our garden, we do not throw away peels, leaves and stems. We can reuse them to prepare other recipes. For example, pea pods are perfect for making soups, crispy chips are made with potato skins and broccoli and cauliflower stalks are suitable for soups and side dishes. THU many useful ideas for using every part of vegetables and greens.

Read also: How to reuse vegetable waste in the kitchen and in the garden

Do not dry the vegetables well

Do you want to prepare crunchy vegetables, cooked in a pan? Then be careful to dry them well before starting cooking. In fact the water present on the still moist vegetables it will produce steam inside your hot pan and the vegetables will not be crunchy and will tend to soften too much. So if you are aiming for the crunchiness of your vegetables, take care of the drying time. This is a common mistake caused by haste. Take some time to dry vegetables and greens. Thus the results of your cooking in the pan will be better.

Forgetting to season cooked carrots

If you prepare cooked carrots don't forget to season with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. The motivation is very simple. Beta-carotene is more bioavailable, that is, more easily assimilated by the body, after being subjected to a short cooking. Furthermore the Vitamin A it is fat-soluble or, in order to dissolve and therefore to be absorbed, it needs a fatty substance. So, when you cook the carrots, season them immediately with a drizzle of oil.

Read also: Carrots: better cooked and with a drizzle of oil, here's why

Overcooking the vegetables

Always do a lot pay attention to cooking times of your greens and vegetables. There are vegetables, such as potatoes, which need to be cooked to perfection because they cannot be eaten raw. Other vegetables, such as broccoli and carrots, should remain a nice bright color during cooking and always be quite crunchy. In short, in general it is better not to cook the vegetables for too long themes so you can enjoy them "al dente" and the flavor will also gain.

Add too much salt

Vegetables have a particular taste that deserves to be savored to the full and not to be almost completely covered with sale. So don't overdo it and maybe replace the common table salt with whole sea salt and, even better, with some spices, that can enhance the taste of vegetables. Don't forget to keep that in mind each vegetable has its own spice or herb.

Read also: Spices and herbs to combine with each vegetable

Drown the vegetables in oil

A drizzle of oil as a condiment is fine, indeed it is advisable to use the raw oil to season both raw and cooked vegetables. Instead we shouldn't exaggerate with the amount of oil to be used when cooking in the pan. One or two tablespoons may be enough depending on the quantity and type of vegetables. If you heat a little oil in a pan well before adding the vegetables, you will notice that the cooking will be faster and that the vegetables will be crunchy and much less greasy.

Forget the marinade

If you love them grilled vegetables, don't forget the marinating. In fact, marinating is considered a fundamental step in the preparation of grilled vegetables, both for a matter of flavor and to prevent the vegetables from turning black too much and that little beneficial substances may develop during grilling. Marinating helps keep foods moist and helps you avoid burning them.

Use poor quality oils for frying

Do you happen to choose frying for cooking vegetables from time to time? In this case it is good to avoid poor quality oils and focus directly onolive oil. Some people tend to prefer other oils for frying, as a matter of savings, but a recent study confirmed that olive oil is better for frying than sunflower oil, corn oil and oil. of soy, both in the fryer and in the pan.

Read also: What is the best oil for frying?

Discard the cooking water

Do not throw thecooking water used to prepare boiled vegetables or steamed vegetables. It is a valuable resource. In particular, with the water of the boiled vegetables you can prepare other recipes, such as soups, risottos and minestrone, as if it were a broth. You can also use the steaming water for cook other courses. Never waste water, even when washing vegetables. Try to collect the washing water in a bowl and reuse it, for example to wash the dishes.

Read also: 10 ideas for reusing pasta cooking water

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