by bacon1996

Created on: November 30, 2010   Last Updated: December 01, 2010

We all know that eating vegetables is very good for your health, but let's be honest, who would choose vegetables over chocolate and sweets? There are many ways in which a person can eat their vegetable without the  disgusting or yuck comments. Root vegetables especially are very good for mashing. Potatoes and swede make a tasty combination, which, quite honestly, is a classic! There is a whole array of other tricks that can be used to 'improve' the flavour of vegetables. Should one make mashed potato, adding cheese will give it a whole new flavour, and adding milk and butter will not only give it a smooth texture it will give the mash a gently delicate taste that complements meat very well. Mashed swede loves a bit of salt and a good bit of pepper to bring out the flavour more impressively.

Everyone must have heard of 'Bubble and Squeak'. It is a classic way of combining vegetables to create an amazing flavour and a meal. Nowadays there are many variations on the dish, but the main idea of potato and cabbage stays the same. Following the principle of combining flavours, flavoured butters is a fantastic way to turn each vegetable into a small tasteful morsel that children and adults would love to sink their teeth into. I know, at the age of 14, that I loved to eat vegetables that were coated in a flavoured butter.

Another way that my parents made me respect vegetables was the art of making soup with them. Most people will have eaten soup in their lives and it is a very popular dish served usually as a starter in restaurants. Tomato soup is probably one of the most well known flavours but there are many others including; ox tail, game, carrot and cumin, and mushroom. Broths also pose a good way of using vegetables. Both broths and soups can be flavoured with spices and meats to create unique and interesting flavours to satisfy a whole range of palates.

The way in which a vegetable is cooked will also have a massive effect on it's taste and texture. It can make the difference between a tasty meal and an unwanted side dish. Roasting vegetables like parsnips, potatoes and squash gives them a wonderfully crispy ouside, especially when roasted in fat, and fluffy, soft flesh. A seemingly easy way to insure fluffy flesh and a crispy outside is to part boil the vegetable then roast it in duck or goose fat.

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