(vegetable medley in the making)
With an abundance of vegetables at the farmer’s market these days it becomes difficult to make a decision – I want everything I see! I remember a dish in one of the restaurants I had apprenticed in -- a side dish with 27 seasonal vegetables simply steamed. With the bounty of confetti colored spring vegetables it was one of the highlights of the menu simple as it was.
The tricky part was to cut the raw vegetables in a way so they would end up somewhat equally cooked in a matter of a few minutes. Recently with my enthusiasm for the vegetables at the market I have been mixing up to 10 different vegetables in one dish, which is delicious.
(yep - a little prep work is nessersary)
Tools & toys
Depending on the chosen vegetables a multiple ingredient list can require quite some prep work. and knife skills are a must. You can defer to a Mandolin but I suggest the outmost care and alertness – so no wine or beer drinking during cooking when you use this
serious slicing tool. Another kitchen toy, which is essential, is a good vegetable peeler. I like such Swiss style vegetable peeler, which do a reliable job with their flexible blade and they lie nicely in the hand.
To make a complete meal out of that vegetable medley I suggest adding a pesto like sauce, which is made with nuts, garlic, and herbs and some spices.
Pecan & Parsley Pesto
(enough to toss into four portions of vegetable medley)
1 cup toasted pecans
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (blanching optional)
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 pinches cayenne
2 cloves garlic, sliced then blanched
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 ice cubes
- Combine all ingredients in a kitchen blender then process for 2 minutes. The pesto should have a pasty or thick puree texture if not add a tablespoon water and process for 2 minutes.
Chef’s note: The ice cubes in the pesto keeps the color bright green. If the parsley is blanched in boiling water for 20 seconds then shocked in ice water the pesto will become even greener.
The following vegetable list and prep steps are an indication of which vegetables are available right now so pick and choose whatever you find the most interesting or incorporate them all. It’s difficult to pin quantities of each vegetable but from most of them you’ll have plentiful if you pick one bunch of each (excluding herbs)
Seasonal Vegetable Medley
Baby bock choy – cut into small wedges with a knife
Baby carrots – peel and slice with the knife or a mandolin
Baby fennel – shave thinly with a mandolin
Beets – peel and shave thinly with a mandolin
Broccoli – cut into small roses with a small knife
Corn ear – peel husk, remove silk then cut seeds off the cob
Cherry tomatoes – remove green leaves
Chive – cut into inch-sized pieces
Fava beans – shell then blanche for 30 seconds and then remove skin
Garlic scapes (green garlic) – cut thinly on a bias
Green asparagus – cut thinly with a knife on a bias
Green celery – cut stalks on the bias with a knife
Italian parsley – pick leaves off the stalks
Kale – cut the stalk out of the leaves then in mouth-sized pieces
Kohlrabi (turnip like veg) – peel and cut into batons/short sticks
Peas – shell
Peppers, small (red, yellow) - remove core then cut into rings
Radishes – cut into small wedges or slice thinly with a mandolin
Small, skinny yellow squash – cut into ¼-inch thick pieces
Small, skinny zucchini – cut into ¼-inch thick pieces
Snap peas – cut ends off and pull through pea “threat”
Spring onions – cut thinly on a bias or in small wedges
String beans (yellow, green, purple, long) – snap ends off then slice thinly with a knife
Young leeks – cut on the bias
- Make sure you rinse vegetables with water before prepping
- Peel, slice, shave and chop vegetables and herbs and toss them in a bowl together
- Heat a gallon sized pot on high heat setting. After 2 minutes add vegetables and ½ cup of hot water and immediately cover with a tight fitting lid – this will steam the vegetables.
- After 4 minutes take the pot off the heat and add the pesto
- Add freshly ground black pepper with a mill and stir with tongs carefully – serve right away.
(27 vegetable medley dish with pesto)
Chef’s Tip: The vegetable medley is a great match to pasta tossed with a sprinkle of black or white truffle oil.
