Spices for cooking vegetables

Vickeree

Vickeree

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What spices do you use that works best and which ones go together on your veggies? I usually steam my vegetables and most of the time they taste bland...
 
Cooking vegetables with the right herbs will make a huge difference, herbs such as oregano, basil, parsley, thyme, rosemary,coriander, cinnamon and tarragon can all be used with vegetables. Here are a few combinations that work well:-

Sweet potatoes - nutmeg or cinnamon
Broccoli - basil and oregano
Peas - thyme
Carrots - cumin, sage, ginger
leaks - garlic and ginger
Asparagus - tarragon
Spinach - basil and garlic
Cabbage - cilantro and cumin
Brussel sprouts - parsley and garlic

The flavour of vegetables will always be enhanced by the use of herbs, however it is better to use fresh herbs rather than dried ones as they are more condensed than in fresh form and can overpower the the flavour of the vegetables.
 
We like to steam or grill our broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, squash and green beans. A lot of time we'll just sprinkle them with Old Bay seasoning and toss them in a just a little bit of olive oil. Easy and very tasty!
 
I don't add herbs when I am steaming vegetables, but I also like the natural taste of the ones I choose to steam. You could try adding something to the steaming water, or you could place garlic cloves and or onion slices in with your vegetables while they are steaming. The other thing is to make sure you are not over steaming your vegetables.
 
Like RWLL commented, Old Bay is delicious on almost all veggies so you should always have it around in the cupboard. I like to coat my veggies in olive oil and then either sautee them on the stove or roast them in the oven for a while. My favorite spices to use are parsley, garlic powder, and rosemary.
 
I do not usually add any herbs or seasoning to my vegetables when I steam them. I think they taste great as they are in their natural form. I think I must have gotten used to eating vegetables this way, so I never consider adding any seasoning to them. I can remember adding white pepper on one occasion though, and it really enhanced the flavour of the vegetables. However, I would add a bit of lime to my cucumbers and sometimes a little salt as well, but I could also eat them just as they are.
 
I like to play around with my veggies but I believe in the natural state is best for me health issues and all. Steamed, I almost never add anything but sometimes I'll even do a pie with cheese, onions, garlic and whatever I feel like experimenting with at the time.
 
fresh coriander or cumin with carrots,i like honey and ginger with parsnips and ground white pepper with swede,fresh wild marjoram with saute courgettes
 
Thanks for all the replies! I don't add the herbs when I steam them but most of the time I use cayenne, oregano and whatever powdered herbs I have. Sometimes I just eat my carrots raw I find that they taste good with peanut butter! I recently discovered the joy of honey and cinnamon on sweet potatoes thanks to this thread :)
 
I really don't use much spices but the bay leaf is my usual spice not to mention the ordinary black pepper that I normally sprinkle on the food that I prepare. Bay leaf is best for sauce dishes like beef that we cook in soy sauce and the pork that we cook in vinegar and soy sauce. The bay leaf actually gives it the smell and less of the flavor. Another good use of bay leaf is when cooking fish. We include it in the marinade.
 
I often cook vegetables as the main ingredients to a meal and I use a lot of paprika (powdered red pepper), cumin and coriander. I also use fresh garlic and sometimes I add mustard to a dish that I'm cooking. Usually I add some ground black pepper to the vegetable dish when it has been cooked.

The herb I use most often in vegetable dishes is oregano.
 
worldmachine said:
Cooking vegetables with the right herbs will make a huge difference, herbs such as oregano, basil, parsley, thyme, rosemary,coriander, cinnamon and tarragon can all be used with vegetables. Here are a few combinations that work well:-

Sweet potatoes - nutmeg or cinnamon
Broccoli - basil and oregano
Peas - thyme
Carrots - cumin, sage, ginger
leaks - garlic and ginger
Asparagus - tarragon
Spinach - basil and garlic
Cabbage - cilantro and cumin
Brussel sprouts - parsley and garlic

The flavour of vegetables will always be enhanced by the use of herbs, however it is better to use fresh herbs rather than dried ones as they are more condensed than in fresh form and can overpower the the flavour of the vegetables.
Click to expand...

Ooh great combinations! :D Love the sound of sprouts with parsley and garlic, cos even though I like sprouts, they can be a little boring sometimes! This would make alot of difference :D And I usually just add a litte pepper and soya sauce to leeks, but ginger and garlic sounds wonderful!
 
When I steam or blanch my vegetables I do not use any spice at all. I use a dipping sauce or paste to go with the otherwise bland vegetable.
 
When cooking vegetables I like to saute or steam them. I use a lot of garlic when I cook certain veggies like garlic like broccoli, asparagus, spinach, bak choy. Try steaming your green beans and then quickly saute them in oil, garlic and hoisin sauce for a nice Asian flavour. I've also roasted cauliflower with garlic, it's fantastic. Carrots go great with ginger as do sweet potatoes. Mint goes nicely with peas and basil goes nicely with zucchini.
Here is a good website with other suggestions. http://www.wellandgoodstudio.com/use-herbs-spices-to-jazz-up-roasted-and-steamed-vegetables/
 
Whenever I do steam vegetables and just to have taste I use a small amount of sesame oil, corn syrup, dash of salt, crushed garlic, chopped onion leeks and mix them together. Then sprinkle sesame seeds for a more healthy dish. I am using these on my steam spinach, bean sprouts and even for eggplants for a long time already and it really taste good.
 
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