Burlington Ontario News, Articles and Reviews

Tweet

For the last two weeks I have braised, roasted, boiled, steamed, grilled and baked a variety of vegetables to bring you new and delicious ways to add them to your diet. Not only does adding more veggies to your weekly routine help combat the après-holiday guilt associated with eating, it’s also hard not to agree with the health benefits of a diet rich in vegetables and fruits such as lower blood pressure; reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, lower risk of eye and digestive problems; and a mellowing effect on blood sugar that can help keep your appetite in check. The easiest way I find to keep my family’s vegetable intake up is to add one new vegetable source each week to our meal plans. I try to find ones that my children have never had before or at least to prepare some old standards in a new way. Here are a few that might be new to you!

Jicama – Jicama is a sweet root vegetable that looks like a turnip and can be enjoyed raw or cooked. Slice jicama into fresh fruit or vegetable salads to add extra crunch or add it to vegetable platters with dip for an appetizer. Jicama may also be used as an ingredient in stir-frys and sauces to add a crunchy texture like water chestnuts. Here’s a great Sunday morning breakfast idea that your whole family will enjoy!

Jicama Hash Browns

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of jicama, peeled and grated (about 2 jicamas)
• 1 onion, chopped or grated
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a large bowl, mix the onion and jicama together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium high heat. Add large spoonfuls of the jicama and onion and cook until golden brown, turning the patties over half way through to brown each side. You may need to do this in batches using the additional tablespoon of oil.
3. To serve, top with scrambled, poached or fried egg!

Kohlrabi – A member of the cabbage family, Kohlrabi resembles the flavour of turnip although much milder. Kohlrabi can be enjoyed raw or cooked. Rich in vitamin C, kohlrabi is very easy to grow in a backyard garden. My father was known for growing a huge variety that we would enjoy raw in salads or sautéed in butter and nutmeg. Here’s a delicious crunchy salad that is chocked full of vegetables but with kohlrabi as the real star!

Kohlrabi Salad

Serves 4 to 6

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 0 minutes

Notes: Serve this crunchy salad with beef, roast lamb, pork or chicken.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium-size kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and grated
• 2 large carrots, peeled and grated
• 1⁄2 red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. (30 mL) fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup (60 mL) extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) red wine vinegar
• 1⁄2 tsp salt
• 1⁄2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

In a large mixing bowl, combine kohlrabi, carrots, red pepper, green onions, garlic and parsley. Toss lightly. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add to salad and toss lightly. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

[Image: Flickr user arimou0]

Tags: recipes

 Retweet  Share  Vote Up  Bookmark  Email