SEVEN sensational vege sides
Make the vegetables at your next barbecue or family dinner as impressive as the meat offerings with these colourful ideas.
1 Crunch time Sumac greens with chickpeas
Look for a good olive oil to team with the lemony sumac and garlic to compliment these lightly cooked, still crunchy vege, topped with a light yoghurt dressing.
SERVES 4
¼ cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
250 g green beans, blanched
1 Tbsp sumac
1 head broccoli, cut thinly
420 g tin chickpeas, drained
1 serving salt and freshly ground black pepper
DRESSING
½ cup Greek yoghurt ½ tsp sumac
2 Tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup toasted hazelnuts
1 Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and garlic, cooking until softened. Stir through the sumac for one minute. Add the beans and broccoli tossing occasionally until crispy and just cooked through.
2 Add the chickpeas, heating though. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
3 Combine the yoghurt, sumac and
lemon juice in a small bowl.
4 Serve the dish warm with a dollop of yoghurt, or stir it through, and a scattering of hazelnuts.
— Recipe by Angela Casley
2 Fresh in Zucchini with mint and chilli
Lightly grilled in-season zucchini is infused with a hint of fresh chilli and mint and served on a bed of nutty pureed chickpeas.
3 Stick it Vege kebabs
Sometimes it’s great to have a change from salad and this is a little more substantial and the chargrilling adds a nice flavour as the vegetables and cheese caramelise.
4 Hot stuff Chargrilled vegetables and goat’s cheese
A chargrilled salad is always a hit, use whatever vegetables are on hand, cook on the barbecue and then toss some salty goat’s cheese through to bring out the flavours.
5 Oven bake Old-fashioned tomato and onion ‘pie’
This is an impressive, yet simple to prepare side that you can serve straight for the oven, inviting the hungry masses to help themselves.
6 So cheesy Vegetable gratin
Everyone loves a gratin and they are a great way to use up vege that might otherwise go to waste and if you include a wide range of colours it will look great too.
7 Dressed up Asparagus with mustard creme fraiche
This is a fast way to dress up asparagus and makes a wonderful side dish. The sauce can be made ahead of time and scaled up or down depending on how many you’re serving.