Two Vegetable Recipes: Add Zest to Your Sidedish

If you are tired of serving the same vegetables night after night and getting that look that says, oh no peas again, you might want to try these two recipes that serve your family the vegetables they need but give them a little zest.

They are relatively easy to prepare and will add that essential variety to your cooking repertoire.

Legume Melange:

The fresh herbs add flavour to this simple dish, the choice of herbs is up to you, add as many or as few as you wish. If you only have dried herbs on hand, use only 2 tsp.

Ingredients:

1 cup canned white beans

2 cups fresh shelled peas

½ pound fresh green beans, trimmed and halved

1 small turnip peeled and diced

4 mediums sized carrots, scraped and diced

¼ cup butter

Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

¼ cup minced fresh herbs (chervil, chives, tarragon, fennel, parsley, basil, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf)

Preparation:

1. Drain the canned white bean, rinse and drain again
2. Cook the peas, green bean, turnip and carrots in boiling water for 30 minutes or until tender. They may be cooked separately or together, adding the longer-cooking ones first (turnip, carrots) so that they will finish cooking at the same time.
3. Drain the vegetables in a colander
4. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the cooked vegetables, then the drained white beans; season with salt and pepper and mix carefully.
5. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes and blend in herbs, serve hot.

This dish can be served with rice, white or brown and makes a great side for chicken, pork chops or beef. In addition to good tasting, healthy food, variety is essential to getting your family to come to the dinner table with a smile on their faces and looking for extras.

Minted Green Peas:

Ingredients:

Two, 10-oz packages frozen bay green peas

1 tsp sugar

4 tbsp butter

2 tsp chopped fresh mint leaves

Preparation;

1. Cook the peas according to the package directions, adding sugar.
2. Slightly under cook
3. Drain
4. Place the peas in a saucepan with the butter, mint and sea salt
5. Heat over a medium heat
6. Shake pan well
7. Let stand for two minutes then serve.

Minted green peas will go great with lamb or pork, add some steamed new potatoes and give you family a simple but delicious dinner that is a little bit different. I buy packages of frozen peas when they are on sale because peas are a simple side dish to serve and can be dressed up to add a new flavour to your meal.