The best time of the year for experimenting in the kitchen is summer, since it is at this time that a lot of opportunities open up to prepare unusual culinary delights from a variety of vegetables.
Not only tasty, but also healthy
It is known that vegetables are the healthiest food for the human body. And this is obvious, since they contain a huge supply of vitamins and minerals, they perfectly tone up, help improve digestion, generally improve well-being and give strength and energy. And some vegetables, in terms of the content of any vitamins and macronutrients, even surpass their counterparts. So, for example, everyone is used to consuming vitamin C from citrus fruits, but its concentration is much higher in red bell peppers, a huge amount of carotene is found in parsley or tomatoes, and beets are very rich in potassium.
How beautiful and extraordinary you can decorate any festive table, adopting at least some of the techniques of carving - the art of artistic cutting of vegetables, and how unusual you can make your favorite dish to taste if you cook it with the addition of various "vitamin magnates", not to mention a great variety independent dishes consisting only of vegetables.
Warm zucchini cake
If you have young children in your home who flatly refuse to eat vegetables, then squash cake is an amazing way to feed them a healthy meal.
Required Ingredients:
- zucchini - 3 - 4 pieces;
- carrots - 1 piece;
- onions - 1 large head;
- wheat flour - 100 grams;
- chicken egg - 1 piece;
- sunflower oil - 30 - 40 ml.
For filling:
- sour cream or mayonnaise - 300 - 400 grams;
- garlic - 5 - 6 cloves;
- dill - 1 bunch;
- tomatoes - 2 pieces;
- hard cheese - 50 grams;
- salt, pepper - to taste.
Step by step recipe:
- Wash the zucchini well and cut into small wedges so that it is convenient to pass through a meat grinder.
- Peel the carrots and onions and also cut into small pieces for an electric press.
- Pass all the vegetables through a meat grinder and let stand for 20 minutes - excess juice will drain, which will need to be drained, holding the vegetable mince with a lid.
- Beat the egg with salt and pour into a bowl of vegetables.
- Then sift the flour there and mix everything thoroughly, if you still need to add salt and pepper.
- Now you need a small non-stick skillet. Heat it up, grease it with a little oil and you can start baking squash pancakes. Too much of the mixture should not be poured into the pan so that the pancakes are baked well and can be turned over more easily.
- At the same time, you can make the filling for the cake: peel the garlic and pass through a press, add sour cream / mayonnaise, chopped herbs, salt, pepper and mix everything well.
- When all the pancakes are ready, start assembling the dish, smearing each layer with sauce, and spread the prepared tomato rings on the central and penultimate layer. Sprinkle the top with grated cheese. As a result, the dish should look very impressive, and the warm cake will surprise everyone with its taste.
Cabbage cutlets
Many are accustomed to associating cutlets with something meaty and satisfying, but it turns out that you can also serve a vegetable side dish with meat cutlets in the form of cutlets. Cabbage cutlets will delight and surprise the whole family with their delicate and unusual taste.
You will need the following products:
- white cabbage or Peking cabbage - 1 small head of cabbage weighing 500 - 600 grams;
- semolina - 0.5 cups;
- onions - 1 head;
- chicken egg - 1 piece;
- tomato paste - 100 - 150 grams;
- salt, herbs - to taste.
Step-by-step cooking:
- First of all, you need a swollen semolina, for this from the very beginning you need to fill it with a small amount of water, about 100 ml.
- Grate cabbage or cut thinly.
- Peel the onions and chop them as finely as possible.
- Mix all the ingredients in a deep convenient bowl - cabbage, onions, swollen semolina, salt and pepper. Add tomato paste and beaten egg. If the dough turns out to be thin, then add a little flour so that you can form cutlets. By the way, if you wish, the cutlets can be rolled in breadcrumbs before frying.
- Preheat a non-stick skillet and add some oil. Put the cobbled semi-finished products and fry for 5 - 7 minutes on low heat under a closed lid, then turn over, reduce the heat and fry until tender, also under a closed lid.
Cauliflower in batter
Of course, the amount of carbohydrates, and, accordingly, calories, in such a dish will go off scale far beyond the norm, but how delicious these appetizing golden hats with legs are, so sometimes you can still enjoy such a vegetable snack.
For the dish you will need:
- cauliflower - 1 fork;
- sour cream - 100 grams;
- sunflower oil - 200 - 300 ml - it all depends on the container for frying;
- egg - 2 - 3 pieces;
- wheat flour - 1 glass;
- salt to taste.
Step by step recipe:
- Rinse the forks of cauliflower well under running water.
- Put water in a large saucepan and dip the cabbage there so that it is completely covered. Bring to a boil and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. During this time, the cabbage will practically reach readiness.
- Drain the water and wait for the cabbage to cool slightly so that you can disassemble it into portioned inflorescences without scalding.
- Prepare the batter: beat the eggs with salt, add sour cream and mix, then gradually sift the flour and stir until smooth without the formation of lumps. The consistency should be a batter. If necessary, add flour.
- Pour sunflower oil into a saucepan and heat well.
- Dip the cabbage inflorescences one by one in the batter and send them to the stewpan with boiling oil. Such cabbage will be fried for about 7-10 minutes, no more. After the indicated time, take it out with a slotted spoon and put it on a plate with a paper towel so that the excess oil is absorbed.
These ruddy lumps, as in the photo below, will have to turn out in the end.
Eggplant baked with cheese
This dish has a very original taste, which will make even "eggplant skeptics" change their attitude towards these vegetables. In addition, due to the absence of additional heat treatment in oil, it can be considered dietary.
Required Ingredients:
- medium eggplants - 4 pieces;
- low-fat cottage cheese 5 - 9% - 300 grams;
- chicken egg - 1 piece;
- hard cheese - 200 grams;
- garlic - 3 cloves;
- salt, pepper, herbs (goes very well with basil) - to taste.
Step by step cooking:
- Wash the eggplants well, cut them lengthwise into 2 parts and put them in boiling salted water for 15 minutes.
- While the vegetables are boiling, prepare the filling: in one bowl, mix cottage cheese, a beaten egg, garlic passed through a press, a part of grated cheese, shredded herbs, salt and pepper.
- When the eggplants are cooked, take out the core with a teaspoon and add to the rest of the curd filling. Mix everything well and fill the eggplant boats.
- Send to bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees on a greased form.
- After 15 minutes, take out and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese. Place in the oven for another 10 minutes.
Vegetable stew in a slow cooker
Probably the simplest recipe that any schoolchild can cope with, and most importantly, the maximum benefits of vegetables will be preserved, thanks to minimal heat treatment.
Required products:
- zucchini - 1 piece;
- potatoes - 4 pieces;
- carrots - 1 piece;
- Cherry tomatoes - 6 pieces;
- garlic - 2 - 3 cloves;
- onions - 1 head;
- bell pepper - 1 piece;
- olive oil - 30 ml;
- salt, herbs - to taste.
Step by step recipe:
- First, in a multi-bowl, fry the onion chopped into squares, chopped into garlic wedges and carrots in half rings.
- Then alternately throw in the vegetables, washed and cut into squares: first the potatoes, then the courgettes, bell peppers and tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt without interfering.
- Leave in a slow cooker on simmering mode for 40 minutes. When the dish is ready, mix all the vegetables and sprinkle with chopped herbs.
