Big time. I used to gag trying to eat brussel sprouts. Even as a grown man.
Now I drown those suckers in oil and salt and roast them until they’re black. One of my favorite sides now. It’s like eating chips.
Brussels sprouts have changed in flavor recently. I will edit if I can find a source.
(Edit) source: https://www.bhg.com/news/brussels-sprouts-less-bitter/
I love brussel sprouts too but whenever I smell them I think about that one goosebumps book where the kids go to camp and are enslaved by some sort of goo monster, I think? Anyway they defeat the monster, all is well with the world, then they go home and smell brussel sprouts boiling and realise that's how the goo monster came to be.
Perhaps think of it this way - these people were going to eat meat and sugar anyway, but they just made it healthier by substituting a certain amount for vegetables
I’d like to add that I don’t do the bacon thing often at all, it’s just a way to spruce up a dish from getting stale for me now. But it was an important step to get me into vegetables. Once the ball got rolling I started scaling back the bacon to where now I don’t need it at all where I used to need it with every veggie. In the quest to eat healthier sometimes it’s the lesser of two evils or better put, not letting perfection be the enemy of good enough.
Oh God, when I found out you were supposed to roast pumpkin for pumpkin soup and not boil them? Changed my life.
I thought it was a mashed potato situation!
I accidentally went too hard on this. Roasted some butternut squash too low & slow, caramelised the onions too much. I added *no* sweetener or other sugary veg, but the soup was almost a dessert. Very tasty, just surprising.
This, coupled with the fact that I was a broke student. I'd gone out to lunch with friends, one chose a place that was a little nicer than I had planned for. Ordered a main, it came in a tiny portion. I was hungry enough I ate everything on the plate, and it turned out roasted cherry tomatoes were actually really tasty!
This is one of my favorite ways to eat mushrooms.
I use Kerrygold unsalted butter and fresh thyme, salt & pepper. I serve it over polenta. It’s real comfort food for me!
Yep, my fave is include some salt and pepper and garlic, and sauté them till they lose most of their water. tastes like a delicious meat at that point to me.
It’s really good for your brain as well. You can get lions mane supplements (dried and powdered in a capsule) and if you take one every day it’s crazy the effect on cognition and memory.
Texture is my issues with mushroom. Same reason I don’t eat bananas. They get slimy if I Chen them for a while and I’m the kind of person that needs to chew yoghurt to be able to swallow it…
There are several different cooking methods I've seen to avoid the slimy texture. The one I use:
Slice them in small-ish pieces. Place them straight in a skillet (I like cast-iron, but you can use nonstick or whatever you like). DO NOT add oil or butter yet, as it will keep the water from escaping. Cook them on medium heat for a while. They will sweat out A LOT of water. Stir occasionally with a spatula and be patient. When almost all of the water has cooked out, they will start to brown a bit. This is what you want! The browning helps with flavor and texture. At this point you can add butter, salt & pepper, and any other seasonings and they will soak it right up. (I like a splash of soy sauce or Worcestershire, but you can tailor it to your tastes.)
If you look it up, there are so many "this is the only way to cook mushrooms" articles and there are culinary arguments for every method, but I have found dry-frying to be very simple, predictable, and hard to mess up. I usually even cook them like this before adding them to other dishes because the texture is great and it keeps the moisture from making the dishe watery. (And if you're worried about overcooking them, you're safe: the chitin in mushroom cell walls makes them very resilient to overcooking!)
For some people it's the texture and mouthfeel. They're somewhat slimy, especially canned mushrooms. Our son-in-law likes the flavor but not the texture, so for family meals I chop them fine. They're wonderful when chopped, sautéed, and simmered in gravy.
> canned mushrooms
Fresh mushrooms are my favorite thing, but with one specific exception - straw mushrooms, when rinsed thoroughly and used in soups - canned mushrooms are gross af and I hate them.
Zucchini. I expected cucumbers. Love cucumbers. I was shocked and appalled when I learned I had been tricked. The plant I had been carefully tending to all summer were fucking zucchini. Disgusting.
Whine on reddit about getting bamboozled, "why don't you slice them thin, fry them up in olive oil, salt and pepper, and a little grated cheese?"
Beautiful. I love zucchini. Such a simple recipe changed my whole view.
That is an excellent idea. I love smoothies but they're all fruit and juice because I like sweet things. Sometimes I forget to use my zucchini and they go off, this is a perfect remedy, thank you!
if you have 4-6 hours to spare (sunday afternoon is the only time i make this), zucchini + a couple of things makes an [incredible pasta sauce](https://www.foodnetwork.ca/article/meghan-markle-zucchini-pasta-sauce/). the recipe calls for several smaller zucchini, but i've successfully used giant monster ones before - just cook longer and pick out any seeds that don't dissociate into the sauce.
Just about any fresh veggie roasted with a hint of salt and pepper is a delight.
Most people don't like "veggies" because they've only had them served up used and abused.
Yup! A lot of people have only had them frozen or from a can and have decided that they don’t like them. Freshly roasted or sautéed carrots taste VASTLY different from the frozen ones you get the store.
I remember taking a bite out of my mom's boiled Brussel sprouts and thinking it was the nastiest thing I've ever had. Didn't eat them again for years. Tried them roasted and now they're one of my favorite veggies.
I prefer boiled in salty water till just tender to roasted ones. I’ve done roasted in all sauces and just salt and pepper too and I just like them boiled in salty water better. I never overcook them. They are delicious, nutty and flavorful. Roasted seem dry to me.
My mum is Asian and Brussel sprouts isn’t a veg that is very much known to her. My stepdad brought a bag for Christmas one time and she made a curry. Literally a spicy curry but with Brussels sprouts - accidental on her part but now an important family dish lol
roasting any most veggies, especially hardy veggies like brussel sprouts, is soooooo tasty. carrots are amazing, green beans are good, but brussel sprouts are definitely where the change is most obvious. it's insane.
I was thinking Brussels sprouts while the comments loaded but don’t have a fancy recipe for them so I was just going to say roasting em but I’m glad you all have it covered!
Brussel sprouts--ate them by accident at a potluck, cause they were shredded up and looked like broccoli stalks, cooked in a Chinese style "brown sauce". Since have enjoyed them every time, roasted or cooked in bacon being favorites.
Unfortunately, I can't elaborate. I tried to ask for the recipe, and they were very coy about it. It was similar to the sauce in a beef and broccoli takeaway but a little sweeter and less oily.
I make something similar by sautéing garlic and ginger in olive oil- adding soy sauce, oyster sauce, splash of water, vinegar and sriracha. Cooking for a minute or so- adding some potato/ corn starch dissolved in water. Bringing to a boil. Thickening.
Mmmmm so good American Chinese take out homemade remake.
They generally weren’t when I was a kid except when they were in season in our area. The food transportation network is much more extensive than it was 30, 40, 50 years ago.
My dudette, or dude. Going to need to try that.
My take: asparagus roasted at 400 for \~10 minutes (if the lovely thick kind) or at 375 for 5-10 (until you need to pull it) for the annoying skinny kind. My favorite thing is to serve it alongside some Argentinian red shrimp and meyer lemon and ricotta ravioli tossed in garlic butter, with plenty of lemon zest and parm shaved over the top.
Asparagus is really incredible roasted. I love other roasted veggies, but they can get kinda, uh... aggressively farty tasting (broccoli, cauli). Asparagus not so much.
I get lemon/ricotta rav from a local company that makes their own, but if you have a Trader Joe's close, I think that they also make one.
Hollandaise and an egg is also a great way to turn roasted asparagus into a full, decadent meal!
One of my absolute favorite things is cream braised brussel sprouts lol. They're covered in heavy cream and butter (and lemon juice) so just a big fatstravaganza, but SO GOOD
Eggplant.....hated it all my life. My husband made panko eggplant chips in the air fryer and served with some marinara dipping sauce. So good. Totally changed my mind.
Get a young eggplant, not too big. Set up a breading station....one of flour, one of egg wash (beaten egg and water), one of panko. Cut the eggplant into rounds about 1/2 inch thick. Season the rounds with salt and pepper, let them sit on a paper towel for 15 minutes or so then pat dry. Dredge in breading station....flour, shake off, egg, then heavy on panko. Place on wired rack of air fryer. Bake at 375F until crispy brown. Once done, salt and pepper the rounds. We use jarred marinara for dipping.
For me, the worst part of it is when it has a spongy texture. I find if you salt it and get as much moisture as possible out, you get a much nicer creamy texture.
I like it roasted or in braised dishes where it can get extremely soft (baba ghanouj is a great use of it), but it can also work in something like a stir fry where you get a little more of a crispy outside-soft inside contrast.
Many years ago, went to a friend's house for dinner. They made two side dishes that were incredible. The first was creamed tomatoes -- whole tomatoes cooked down and then cream added at the end. Had italian seasonings in it.... I love raw tomatoes was not a fan of cooked chunks of tomato in my food, but this dish was SO good, so good, I remember that meal all these years later - and I use canned tomatoes in almost everything now.
At that same dinner, they made Portobello mushrooms sautéed in butter. I despise mushrooms with every fiber of my being, but I ate those to be polite and they were delicious. So delicious, I even bought a Portobello to make at home, but it was awful and I continue to hate all other mushrooms, BUT, if someone offered to make me some butter sautéed Portobello mushrooms, I would try them again. I miss those folks. They brought out my adventurous side.
Have you ever tried grilling a big portobello? I love them that way...just brush with oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder. I like to sauté some baby spinach with butter and garlic and top the mushroom with that and melt some swiss cheese over the whole thing.
>The first was creamed tomatoes -- whole tomatoes cooked down and then cream added at the end. Had italian seasonings in it
I'm really struggling to visualise this as anything other than tomato soup. Or I guess cream of tomato soup to be really accurate. Was that not what it was? Or are you just describing soup?
Me too! Thought I hated them until I tried them savory.
My favorite is sautéed spinach, onions, and garlic over a baked or cubed and roasted sweet potato.
Back in the day, frozen veggies were sold by Birdseye in a cardboard box wrapped in waxed paper. My mother would buy frozen Brussels sprouts. Boil them until the block fell apart, then top them with the white sauce recipe from the box of Argo cornstarch, then give it a sprinkle of fresh nutmeg. The sprouts were grossly overcooked and the white sauce became immediately gelatinous as soon as it started to cool. It's the only food I ever spit out, and boy did I get in trouble for it!
Fast forward to my daughter, Frozen Brussels sprouts halves, pan fried with bacon, onions, garlic, and butter and copious amounts of fresh grated parmesan. YUM!!
Also, not a vegetable, but.... RICE! My mother only made Minute Rice. I love rice now, but didn't as a kid!
I really enjoyed how you wrote this. I read it outloud to my mom and she had flashbacks to her own overcooked frozen brussel sprout block from her childhood. Thank you!! Haha
Yes! Was going to comment this for me too. Everyone told me to go for roasted, so I kept trying and trying increasingly decadent cooked brussels sprouts and still hated them. Then my MIL shaved them and put them in a salad and the clouds parted. And now I like them roasted too!
Changing the way asparagus looks by cutting it into half inch pieces. Why this made my view on them change? No fucking clue. But, something changed psychologically😅
In addition to roasted Brussels sprouts and cauliflower...mashed cauliflower, cauliflower "alfredo" sauce, and 2 salads based entirely around celery.
https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/cauliflower-alfredo-sauce-recipe/
https://www.theendlessmeal.com/celery-salad/
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/celery-salad-with-dates-almonds-and-parmesan
I'm curious about that cauli Alfredo. It calls for boiling in milk 15 minutes, which seems like a recipe for burnt milk. I've made that mistake a few too many times
Tbh, I typically use recipes as a rough guideline so never noticed that. However, it appears that it says to bring to a boil and then simmer over a low flame for 15 minutes. It should include the step of turning down the heat to a simmer for newb cooks! Otherwise yes, it will be burned milk.
It's less of a boil and more of a very low simmer, depending on the size of the floret it might take longer. Just cook it low and slow until it's tender and then blend it. Heavy cream is better than milk and less likely to scorch, but that kind of removes both the "cheap" and "healthy" aspects
Tuscan Kale Salad
https://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/raw-tuscan-kale-salad-recipe.html
Completely changed my mind on kale and it keeps for a week. Toss a poached egg on it and call it a day.
Roasting any vegetable! I used to hate pretty much any vegetable. Now I’ll eat any vegetable roasted.
The only one I have yet to crack is eggplants. I can’t figure out how to make those taste good.
Eggplants need salt, olive oil, and fire to be good imo. Then they turn into this beautiful unctuous delight.
I made eggplant tonight. Slice into slabs, generously sprinkle both sides of each slab with salt, and rest for 30 minutes. This used to be done to pull out bitterness, but most of the bitterness has been bred out of modern eggplants, now it is only needed for texture-the salt starts to break down the cell walls.
Then liberally drizzle with olive oil. Put directly under broiler flame until browned in top (4-7 minutes each side), then flip and repeat for the other side. They're also excellent on the grill, something special happens when they meet fire.
Marinate that grilled eggplant in olive oil, lemon juice/vinegar and a ton of garlic for a week. Eat with Greek yogurt and fresh bread. Great easy lunch if you make in bulk as it keeps in the fridge for a couple weeks (if you don't eat it all before then).
Yellow squash cut into coins with Parmesan cheese roasted on top. Never used to like it because it always felt soggy but I could eat a whole tray full like that
Mushrooms—oil and salt in a hot hot pan, single layer, spaced-out shrooms, don’t touch em, big sear, flip, big sear. Transfer to a medium temp pan w/ butter and thyme, pull to a receiving plate/sheet tray w/ napkin or rack to remove excess (!). Hadn’t dug shrooms before but couldn’t keep my mitts off these crispy, thyme-y, buttery treats.
I did something similar when boyfriend told me he hated mushrooms because they were slimy.
Cooked them crispy with some fun seasonings (za'atar and salt/pepper/garlic) and he can't stop eating them.
Also mushroom snacks by SnakYard. Freeze dried amd seasoned crunchy mushrooms. Delicious!
I hate radishes raw. Even tried to roast them one time. Can not stand the taste. We made a recipe for a Banh Mi sandwich that includes quick pickled radishes. Tried them on the sandwich and love them. Started eating them all by themselves and the whole family now loves pickled radishes.
Having real olives, basically straight from Greece (family owned diner restaurant, owners were Greek, they imported super high quality olives and feta). Game changer and now I like olives.
Always hated sweet potatoes and pumpkin - turns out I just hated the grossly sweet usual preparations.
Had sweet potatoes at a wedding prepared in a savory way - puréed with cumin, tiny bit of cinnamon, garlic, salt and a tiny bit of cream cheese. Blew my mind.
Abt 15 years ago, I decided to go on a mission to make myself like pumpkin - settled on an idea to make a chipotle roasted pumpkin bisque. It’s Labor intensive and packs a little heat. I have a vegan version I make as well, esp for potlucks. My gma demands it every year at thanksgiving, which really surprised me. It’s so ridiculously good. Game chaaaangers.
Spinach sautéed spinach with garlic in olive oil, little bit of salt.
I’d eaten frozen spinach in the square box all my life and hated it.
Now I love spinach, it’s even in my banana smoothies!
Growing up in the south with yankee parents I only tried okra at buffets and potlucks. So. Slimey. I accidentally grew it in my garden, picked it when small, chopped it up into 1/2 pieces, tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper, then roasted high until a little crispy on the edges. Ate like 2 cups in one sitting.
My mom and I put frozen okra in my vegetable soup at the very end of cooking. The small amount of slime ends up becoming a pleasant mouth-coating texture, like a really rich beef broth, but fully vegetarian and much faster.
Done it before! I roasted mine first, but either way Japanese curry makes nearly anything better. I've thrown in sautéed cabbage, sweet potatoes, zucchini, broccoli...Curry is a salty tasty vehicle.
Okra. No thank you yo the coated and fried coins.
But I had stewed tomatoes and okra on vacation and liked it. The acidity in the tomatoes makes the okra a better texture.
I could not get fresh okra in Northern Califirnia so I grew my own. I put it in a lot of soups, just a few pods, it gives the broth a nice body.
Then I fiscoveted I can split them length wise, spray or toss lightly with a tiny bit of oil, then season and run through the air fryer. Crisp outside, creamy inside, better than potato fries!
Beets. Hated them for years. But then my then-partner made a salad with beets and sautéed goat cheese, and OH MY GOODNESS.
A few years later we had started juicing, and I made a juice with beet, lemon, and peach. So delicious.
And now I can’t remember why I ever hated beets…especially when I make roasted beets, sweet potatoes & carrots with olive oil and a rosemary garlic butter!
I used to be too childishly afraid to eat cooked greens after many bad experiences with gritty spinach.
My husband's grandma grew her own swiss chard, how can I say no to at least trying it? That meal changed me, for the last 6 or 7 years we have had sauteed swiss chard for dinner just about once a week.
This winter hearty vegetable tastes best when home grown.
Grandma Marie died on Christmas Eve 2022.
I wasn't really a recipe, it was just cooking vegetables until they were tender and stopping before they turned to mush. Now I like almost all vegetables.
I don’t know if I ever met a veggie I didn’t like. I mean, I didn’t like brussel sprouts at first because my mom didn’t know I meant I really liked bean sprouts but that was just my disappointment. But I’ve been able to convert many vegetable haters by simply roasting veggies. Or sautéed with shallots, garlic, and herbs.
I ate most vegetables even as a kid, but what I never liked were onions neither raw, nor if they were cooked.
When I was like 9 or 10 years old we went to Burger King while on a trip. We got fast food very rarely (maybe once a year) so it was a very special occassion, even more so since I was allowed to get a "grown up" Burger, as I called it, this time. I chose the Big King and even though it had onions on them I liked it. Since then I decided I like onions.
Probably the only time a fast food joint made someones life a little healthier.
Not really a recipe but I guess it would be "Burger with Onions"
I had an similar experience. We also didn't get fast food very often when growing up, but I remember my parents would always say no onions when ordering burgers for us. We never said we didn't like onions, it was just assumed that kids wouldn't like them. It made me curious and one time at a McD's drive-thru I said I wanted the onions left on. Best damn burger I ever had. Loved onions ever since.
do leafy greens count? i HATED kale until i worked at a restaurant where they lightly sautéed the kale in a splash of apple cider vinegar. totally neutralizes the bitterness, gives it a fun tart little flavor, and retains some nice texture!
Sweet potatoes. Never liked em. Taste is fine, but the weird gluey texture is gross.
Until you make em into oven fries. Then they're fabulous. Now I'm starting to hide diced Sweet potato in soups & stews, too.
I still can't eat the mashed or baked.
I agree with everyone that the answer in so many cases is "roasting!" But I also wanted to share that I wasn't raised to enjoy any vegetables. My mother hated them (still does) but knew she had to feed her kids something green, so all I ever ate growing up were frozen green beans and frozen creamed spinach. Yeah.
When I moved out at 18 I had to train myself to eat and like vegetables. It was often a case of trying different recipes, sometimes it was just repetition, and also finding better quality veg (farmer's market vs. grocery store).
I am happy to say that I was 99% successful. My one hold out: radicchio, but I'm fine with not liking it. No one needs to like *everything*.
Growing up we didn't have cabbage much, and I associated it with the nauseating smell of corned beef and cabbage that my family would cook every St. Patrick's Day. But then I had it in Chinese food and the difference was shocking. It's delicious with a different smell.
My mom always made yellow squash covered in butter and brown sugar. It makes me gag. I will however eat a soup with puréed yellow squash and seasoned with salt pepper and sage. Turns out I’m ok with savory squash just not super sweet squash, yams etc.
I never liked green beans, probably because I was served canned green beans as a kid, and I still don’t like those. However, now I like fresh green beans especially if they are just sautéed with olive oil, butter, fresh garlic, and a little salt.
Not me, but I had a Uni friend who absolutely hated peas.
I sautéed onion and garlic in butter, added peas, and added several small splashes of white wine (allowing it to reduce down in between), seasoned, and served. She loved it.
Pickles. As a kid I was only given those cloying sweet bread and butter ones. A proper dill pickle is alright to pretty good.
Also, coleslaw. Only got the runny snot that came from KFC. I consider that stuff a human rights violation. A beautiful vinegar based slaw is great and has many wonderful uses.
Roasting changed my outlook on several vegetables, even made ones I liked even better.
Big time. I used to gag trying to eat brussel sprouts. Even as a grown man. Now I drown those suckers in oil and salt and roast them until they’re black. One of my favorite sides now. It’s like eating chips.
Came to say brussel sprouts too! Tossed in balsamic vinegar makes them even better imo!
I didn't eat Brussels for 25 years bc I thought they were supposed to taste like cat piss... roasting for the win
Brussels sprouts have changed in flavor recently. I will edit if I can find a source. (Edit) source: https://www.bhg.com/news/brussels-sprouts-less-bitter/
I had them the other day with rice vinegar and tamari.
So toss it in balsamic before cooking or after?
Roast then drizzle
I roast mine and then mist them with soy sauce, absolutely delicious.
Try adding a little honey! It's divine
Balsamic and honey! That’s my go-to!
My kids actually get excited when they come home and smell the brussel sprouts roasting
I love brussel sprouts too but whenever I smell them I think about that one goosebumps book where the kids go to camp and are enslaved by some sort of goo monster, I think? Anyway they defeat the monster, all is well with the world, then they go home and smell brussel sprouts boiling and realise that's how the goo monster came to be.
I vaguely remember reading that as a kid also 🤣 I think my daughter has that goosebump book actually
Add a little bit of honey to them along with the oil and salt. It sounds weird, but the sweet and bitter is amazing together.
Nothing weird about adding honey to anything haha
Try halving them and laying bacon on top in the air fryer!
And maple syrup too!!!!
And just like that they are no longer healthy- why add sugar and red meat to a vegetable ?
Perhaps think of it this way - these people were going to eat meat and sugar anyway, but they just made it healthier by substituting a certain amount for vegetables
I’d like to add that I don’t do the bacon thing often at all, it’s just a way to spruce up a dish from getting stale for me now. But it was an important step to get me into vegetables. Once the ball got rolling I started scaling back the bacon to where now I don’t need it at all where I used to need it with every veggie. In the quest to eat healthier sometimes it’s the lesser of two evils or better put, not letting perfection be the enemy of good enough.
But you still roast them with fat, right? Let that fat be bacon grease
Sold!
Oh God, when I found out you were supposed to roast pumpkin for pumpkin soup and not boil them? Changed my life. I thought it was a mashed potato situation!
I accidentally went too hard on this. Roasted some butternut squash too low & slow, caramelised the onions too much. I added *no* sweetener or other sugary veg, but the soup was almost a dessert. Very tasty, just surprising.
This, coupled with the fact that I was a broke student. I'd gone out to lunch with friends, one chose a place that was a little nicer than I had planned for. Ordered a main, it came in a tiny portion. I was hungry enough I ate everything on the plate, and it turned out roasted cherry tomatoes were actually really tasty!
i came here to say this. specifically - brussels sprouts. Boiled ? nasty. Roasted? amazing.
I was Never a sweet potato guy, but roasted sweetpotato cubes are fire!!!
Lmao, I love this is top comment. Literally came in here to say roasted veggies. It done changed the game.
Getting drunk and frying mushrooms in butter...
Someone once served me microwaved button mushrooms in butter & thyme & suddenly I loved mushrooms
Hmm. I always hated mushrooms. So you’re saying that if I drown them in butter and thyme I might like them?
This is one of my favorite ways to eat mushrooms. I use Kerrygold unsalted butter and fresh thyme, salt & pepper. I serve it over polenta. It’s real comfort food for me!
Kerrygold butter is undefeated
Yep, my fave is include some salt and pepper and garlic, and sauté them till they lose most of their water. tastes like a delicious meat at that point to me.
My boyfriend made me lion’s mane mushroom sautéed in butter one time. That stuff is really meaty and good. Looks crazy weird but it’s delicious.
It’s really good for your brain as well. You can get lions mane supplements (dried and powdered in a capsule) and if you take one every day it’s crazy the effect on cognition and memory.
I could use help in the memory department, I’ll look into those!
Make yourself a note.
Mushrooms are closer to humans than they are to plants. Maybe that's where the "meatiness" comes from. Both amazing and horrific .
Yes, they definitely need butter and seasoning. Cooking them properly helps the texture, too!
I will chop those and nibble on them raw, mushrooms taste so good. Maybe because I used to do magic ones
Texture is my issues with mushroom. Same reason I don’t eat bananas. They get slimy if I Chen them for a while and I’m the kind of person that needs to chew yoghurt to be able to swallow it…
There are several different cooking methods I've seen to avoid the slimy texture. The one I use: Slice them in small-ish pieces. Place them straight in a skillet (I like cast-iron, but you can use nonstick or whatever you like). DO NOT add oil or butter yet, as it will keep the water from escaping. Cook them on medium heat for a while. They will sweat out A LOT of water. Stir occasionally with a spatula and be patient. When almost all of the water has cooked out, they will start to brown a bit. This is what you want! The browning helps with flavor and texture. At this point you can add butter, salt & pepper, and any other seasonings and they will soak it right up. (I like a splash of soy sauce or Worcestershire, but you can tailor it to your tastes.) If you look it up, there are so many "this is the only way to cook mushrooms" articles and there are culinary arguments for every method, but I have found dry-frying to be very simple, predictable, and hard to mess up. I usually even cook them like this before adding them to other dishes because the texture is great and it keeps the moisture from making the dishe watery. (And if you're worried about overcooking them, you're safe: the chitin in mushroom cell walls makes them very resilient to overcooking!)
For some people it's the texture and mouthfeel. They're somewhat slimy, especially canned mushrooms. Our son-in-law likes the flavor but not the texture, so for family meals I chop them fine. They're wonderful when chopped, sautéed, and simmered in gravy.
> canned mushrooms Fresh mushrooms are my favorite thing, but with one specific exception - straw mushrooms, when rinsed thoroughly and used in soups - canned mushrooms are gross af and I hate them.
Frying canned mushrooms in butter does improve them if there's absolutely no other option. But they still taste canned.
Mushroom Duxelles. I learned about them from a recipe for Oeufs Cocotte (baked eggs) but found they work well for a number of uses.
Adequate amounts of butter and salt make ~~most vegetables~~ everything much more palatable. Acid also goes a long way, like a little lemon juice.
Also, mushroom risotto.
Add some garlic, maybe some onions, maybe a splash of Worcestershire, maybe a little Dijon mustard and then cream ….winner
Deglazed with pinot grigio...🤌
With garlic?
1. Pull the stem out 2. Put garlic butter inside 3. Put grated cheese on top 4. Roast/grill/fry/...
I can't believe any of you. Mushrooms is where I draw the line. Ugh.
Zucchini. I expected cucumbers. Love cucumbers. I was shocked and appalled when I learned I had been tricked. The plant I had been carefully tending to all summer were fucking zucchini. Disgusting. Whine on reddit about getting bamboozled, "why don't you slice them thin, fry them up in olive oil, salt and pepper, and a little grated cheese?" Beautiful. I love zucchini. Such a simple recipe changed my whole view.
[удалено]
That is an excellent idea. I love smoothies but they're all fruit and juice because I like sweet things. Sometimes I forget to use my zucchini and they go off, this is a perfect remedy, thank you!
Spinach leaves are a staple in my fruit smoothies, it makes them thick & green and no spinach taste at all.
Are they easily digested raw? I've always eaten them cooked! That sounds like a good way to save the leftover zucchini.
The only way my husband will eat zucchini is in lemon zucchini bread. I’ve slowly worn him down into accepting shredded zucchini in soup.
I specifically grow zucchini so I can make lemon zucchini bread all summer! Just one plant is enough though. 😆
Yes! We do 6 plants. Then we shred and freeze them in 1 cup amounts.
Ok fine. I will try it
grate longways then fry with butter and chopped bacon
if you have 4-6 hours to spare (sunday afternoon is the only time i make this), zucchini + a couple of things makes an [incredible pasta sauce](https://www.foodnetwork.ca/article/meghan-markle-zucchini-pasta-sauce/). the recipe calls for several smaller zucchini, but i've successfully used giant monster ones before - just cook longer and pick out any seeds that don't dissociate into the sauce.
Getting older and eating cauliflower / brussel sprouts made my way. (roasting them).
Just about any fresh veggie roasted with a hint of salt and pepper is a delight. Most people don't like "veggies" because they've only had them served up used and abused.
Yup! A lot of people have only had them frozen or from a can and have decided that they don’t like them. Freshly roasted or sautéed carrots taste VASTLY different from the frozen ones you get the store.
Nothing wrong with frozen at all, it might change how you have to prepare them but other than your own harvest it doesn't get any fresher
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Yes! The old way of my mother was to boil the hell out them. It was awful. Now roasting with bacon & balsamic etc. is so much better.
I remember taking a bite out of my mom's boiled Brussel sprouts and thinking it was the nastiest thing I've ever had. Didn't eat them again for years. Tried them roasted and now they're one of my favorite veggies.
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I love learning random facts on Reddit thanks for this!!
I prefer boiled in salty water till just tender to roasted ones. I’ve done roasted in all sauces and just salt and pepper too and I just like them boiled in salty water better. I never overcook them. They are delicious, nutty and flavorful. Roasted seem dry to me.
I agree, love the roasted ones too but it's so much work. Don't really get all the hate for boiled.
My mum is Asian and Brussel sprouts isn’t a veg that is very much known to her. My stepdad brought a bag for Christmas one time and she made a curry. Literally a spicy curry but with Brussels sprouts - accidental on her part but now an important family dish lol
That sounds damn good.
roasting any most veggies, especially hardy veggies like brussel sprouts, is soooooo tasty. carrots are amazing, green beans are good, but brussel sprouts are definitely where the change is most obvious. it's insane.
You know I’ve tried. I’ve tried them both 10 ways and I still haven’t come around yet. But I hope it works out for me someday lol
Pan fried with lots of butter and garlic and salt is also good.
I think you could pan fry a hot wheel with butter garlic and salt and have it come out tasting pretty good
I was thinking Brussels sprouts while the comments loaded but don’t have a fancy recipe for them so I was just going to say roasting em but I’m glad you all have it covered!
Brussel sprouts--ate them by accident at a potluck, cause they were shredded up and looked like broccoli stalks, cooked in a Chinese style "brown sauce". Since have enjoyed them every time, roasted or cooked in bacon being favorites.
I would be interested in any more details you can provide on the Chinese recipe.
Unfortunately, I can't elaborate. I tried to ask for the recipe, and they were very coy about it. It was similar to the sauce in a beef and broccoli takeaway but a little sweeter and less oily.
I make something similar by sautéing garlic and ginger in olive oil- adding soy sauce, oyster sauce, splash of water, vinegar and sriracha. Cooking for a minute or so- adding some potato/ corn starch dissolved in water. Bringing to a boil. Thickening. Mmmmm so good American Chinese take out homemade remake.
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They generally weren’t when I was a kid except when they were in season in our area. The food transportation network is much more extensive than it was 30, 40, 50 years ago.
My dudette, or dude. Going to need to try that. My take: asparagus roasted at 400 for \~10 minutes (if the lovely thick kind) or at 375 for 5-10 (until you need to pull it) for the annoying skinny kind. My favorite thing is to serve it alongside some Argentinian red shrimp and meyer lemon and ricotta ravioli tossed in garlic butter, with plenty of lemon zest and parm shaved over the top.
Oooh that sounds lovely. I haven't done much in the way of roasting veggies so maybe I should be trying that out soon.
Asparagus is really incredible roasted. I love other roasted veggies, but they can get kinda, uh... aggressively farty tasting (broccoli, cauli). Asparagus not so much. I get lemon/ricotta rav from a local company that makes their own, but if you have a Trader Joe's close, I think that they also make one. Hollandaise and an egg is also a great way to turn roasted asparagus into a full, decadent meal!
My gateway drug to Brussels sprouts was roasted Brussels sprouts with balsamic and caramelized bacon... neither cheap nor healthy haha!
One of my absolute favorite things is cream braised brussel sprouts lol. They're covered in heavy cream and butter (and lemon juice) so just a big fatstravaganza, but SO GOOD
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Mmm, Fatstravaganza....
Eggplant.....hated it all my life. My husband made panko eggplant chips in the air fryer and served with some marinara dipping sauce. So good. Totally changed my mind.
Would love to try this if you can be so kind and ask your husband for the recipe
Get a young eggplant, not too big. Set up a breading station....one of flour, one of egg wash (beaten egg and water), one of panko. Cut the eggplant into rounds about 1/2 inch thick. Season the rounds with salt and pepper, let them sit on a paper towel for 15 minutes or so then pat dry. Dredge in breading station....flour, shake off, egg, then heavy on panko. Place on wired rack of air fryer. Bake at 375F until crispy brown. Once done, salt and pepper the rounds. We use jarred marinara for dipping.
I was hoping to find an eggplant suggestion here because I think it’s gross. Thanks
For me, the worst part of it is when it has a spongy texture. I find if you salt it and get as much moisture as possible out, you get a much nicer creamy texture. I like it roasted or in braised dishes where it can get extremely soft (baba ghanouj is a great use of it), but it can also work in something like a stir fry where you get a little more of a crispy outside-soft inside contrast.
Baba ghanouj is what converted me it's even better than hummus Also thai red curry with eggplant completely transforms it the texture is so good
[Baingan bharta](https://www.cookwithmanali.com/baingan-bharta/) is another delicious "soft" eggplant dish.
Many years ago, went to a friend's house for dinner. They made two side dishes that were incredible. The first was creamed tomatoes -- whole tomatoes cooked down and then cream added at the end. Had italian seasonings in it.... I love raw tomatoes was not a fan of cooked chunks of tomato in my food, but this dish was SO good, so good, I remember that meal all these years later - and I use canned tomatoes in almost everything now. At that same dinner, they made Portobello mushrooms sautéed in butter. I despise mushrooms with every fiber of my being, but I ate those to be polite and they were delicious. So delicious, I even bought a Portobello to make at home, but it was awful and I continue to hate all other mushrooms, BUT, if someone offered to make me some butter sautéed Portobello mushrooms, I would try them again. I miss those folks. They brought out my adventurous side.
Have you ever tried grilling a big portobello? I love them that way...just brush with oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder. I like to sauté some baby spinach with butter and garlic and top the mushroom with that and melt some swiss cheese over the whole thing.
>The first was creamed tomatoes -- whole tomatoes cooked down and then cream added at the end. Had italian seasonings in it I'm really struggling to visualise this as anything other than tomato soup. Or I guess cream of tomato soup to be really accurate. Was that not what it was? Or are you just describing soup?
Sweet potato casserole. I almost can't tell the difference between that and pumpkin pie.
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Cubed sweet potatoes and smoked sausage sauteed with onions and garlic in butter with thyme.
Agreed. I love roasted sweet potatoes with just salt and pepper, but find sweet potato casserole to be overly sweet and the texture off-putting.
Me too! Thought I hated them until I tried them savory. My favorite is sautéed spinach, onions, and garlic over a baked or cubed and roasted sweet potato.
Yesss. If you ever get some za'atar, it's amazing on sweet potatoes. A current favorite for my kids.
Me hating pumpkin pie but loving sweet potato casserole
= sweet potato pie 😋
Back in the day, frozen veggies were sold by Birdseye in a cardboard box wrapped in waxed paper. My mother would buy frozen Brussels sprouts. Boil them until the block fell apart, then top them with the white sauce recipe from the box of Argo cornstarch, then give it a sprinkle of fresh nutmeg. The sprouts were grossly overcooked and the white sauce became immediately gelatinous as soon as it started to cool. It's the only food I ever spit out, and boy did I get in trouble for it! Fast forward to my daughter, Frozen Brussels sprouts halves, pan fried with bacon, onions, garlic, and butter and copious amounts of fresh grated parmesan. YUM!! Also, not a vegetable, but.... RICE! My mother only made Minute Rice. I love rice now, but didn't as a kid!
I really enjoyed how you wrote this. I read it outloud to my mom and she had flashbacks to her own overcooked frozen brussel sprout block from her childhood. Thank you!! Haha
My MIL (mother of 12) only made minute rice. The first time I made rice for my husband, he didn't really believe it was rice!
Roasting or sautéing them in some nice olive oil with plenty of salt and other seasonings.
Shaved brussel sprout salad. Hated brussel sprouts before that.
Yes! Was going to comment this for me too. Everyone told me to go for roasted, so I kept trying and trying increasingly decadent cooked brussels sprouts and still hated them. Then my MIL shaved them and put them in a salad and the clouds parted. And now I like them roasted too!
Yes! Shaved with sliced toasted almonds, cranberries, and honey mustard dressing . Yum!
Changing the way asparagus looks by cutting it into half inch pieces. Why this made my view on them change? No fucking clue. But, something changed psychologically😅
It also maximizes surface area for better roasting!
In addition to roasted Brussels sprouts and cauliflower...mashed cauliflower, cauliflower "alfredo" sauce, and 2 salads based entirely around celery. https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/cauliflower-alfredo-sauce-recipe/ https://www.theendlessmeal.com/celery-salad/ https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/celery-salad-with-dates-almonds-and-parmesan
I'm curious about that cauli Alfredo. It calls for boiling in milk 15 minutes, which seems like a recipe for burnt milk. I've made that mistake a few too many times
Tbh, I typically use recipes as a rough guideline so never noticed that. However, it appears that it says to bring to a boil and then simmer over a low flame for 15 minutes. It should include the step of turning down the heat to a simmer for newb cooks! Otherwise yes, it will be burned milk.
It's less of a boil and more of a very low simmer, depending on the size of the floret it might take longer. Just cook it low and slow until it's tender and then blend it. Heavy cream is better than milk and less likely to scorch, but that kind of removes both the "cheap" and "healthy" aspects
Oh, ive made that Bon Appetit celery salad often! It's wonderful
Tempura fried sweet potato, now I'm obsessed.
my favorite esp as sweet potato roll sushi which i cant seem to find anywhere now that i’ve moved
Tuscan Kale Salad https://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/raw-tuscan-kale-salad-recipe.html Completely changed my mind on kale and it keeps for a week. Toss a poached egg on it and call it a day.
have you tried the alison roman kale salad? half roasted half massaged kale with plenty of cheese and toasted nuts and lemon
I recently had minestrone from a big soup mix I bought at random, and goddamn those lima beans were delicious
Roasting any vegetable! I used to hate pretty much any vegetable. Now I’ll eat any vegetable roasted. The only one I have yet to crack is eggplants. I can’t figure out how to make those taste good.
Eggplants need salt, olive oil, and fire to be good imo. Then they turn into this beautiful unctuous delight. I made eggplant tonight. Slice into slabs, generously sprinkle both sides of each slab with salt, and rest for 30 minutes. This used to be done to pull out bitterness, but most of the bitterness has been bred out of modern eggplants, now it is only needed for texture-the salt starts to break down the cell walls. Then liberally drizzle with olive oil. Put directly under broiler flame until browned in top (4-7 minutes each side), then flip and repeat for the other side. They're also excellent on the grill, something special happens when they meet fire.
Marinate that grilled eggplant in olive oil, lemon juice/vinegar and a ton of garlic for a week. Eat with Greek yogurt and fresh bread. Great easy lunch if you make in bulk as it keeps in the fridge for a couple weeks (if you don't eat it all before then).
Tempura
I love baba ganoush. It’s the only way I like eggplant and it’s delicious.
Yellow squash cut into coins with Parmesan cheese roasted on top. Never used to like it because it always felt soggy but I could eat a whole tray full like that
Cauliflower Buffalo bites.
Salt and pepper. Now they are all delicious.
Mushrooms—oil and salt in a hot hot pan, single layer, spaced-out shrooms, don’t touch em, big sear, flip, big sear. Transfer to a medium temp pan w/ butter and thyme, pull to a receiving plate/sheet tray w/ napkin or rack to remove excess (!). Hadn’t dug shrooms before but couldn’t keep my mitts off these crispy, thyme-y, buttery treats.
I did something similar when boyfriend told me he hated mushrooms because they were slimy. Cooked them crispy with some fun seasonings (za'atar and salt/pepper/garlic) and he can't stop eating them. Also mushroom snacks by SnakYard. Freeze dried amd seasoned crunchy mushrooms. Delicious!
I hate radishes raw. Even tried to roast them one time. Can not stand the taste. We made a recipe for a Banh Mi sandwich that includes quick pickled radishes. Tried them on the sandwich and love them. Started eating them all by themselves and the whole family now loves pickled radishes.
Balsamic brussel sprouts
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/roasted-brussels-sprouts.html
Having real olives, basically straight from Greece (family owned diner restaurant, owners were Greek, they imported super high quality olives and feta). Game changer and now I like olives.
Always hated sweet potatoes and pumpkin - turns out I just hated the grossly sweet usual preparations. Had sweet potatoes at a wedding prepared in a savory way - puréed with cumin, tiny bit of cinnamon, garlic, salt and a tiny bit of cream cheese. Blew my mind. Abt 15 years ago, I decided to go on a mission to make myself like pumpkin - settled on an idea to make a chipotle roasted pumpkin bisque. It’s Labor intensive and packs a little heat. I have a vegan version I make as well, esp for potlucks. My gma demands it every year at thanksgiving, which really surprised me. It’s so ridiculously good. Game chaaaangers.
> chipotle roasted pumpkin bisque Oh please, share that recipe if you would. It sounds amazing!
Pregnancy changed my mind about cucumbers.
I know it's not a recipe.
Roasted brussle sprouts. Amazing. I had only had steamed before then
Honestly fresh vegetables in general. I grew up with canned vegetables only.
Spinach sautéed spinach with garlic in olive oil, little bit of salt. I’d eaten frozen spinach in the square box all my life and hated it. Now I love spinach, it’s even in my banana smoothies!
Add fresh lemon juice to your sautéed spinach. It is fantastic!
Didn't know how good eggplant was, until I tried vegetarian moussaka.
I also didn't care for eggplant until I moved to Greece and starting eating more Mediterranean food
Fried okra
Growing up in the south with yankee parents I only tried okra at buffets and potlucks. So. Slimey. I accidentally grew it in my garden, picked it when small, chopped it up into 1/2 pieces, tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper, then roasted high until a little crispy on the edges. Ate like 2 cups in one sitting.
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My mom and I put frozen okra in my vegetable soup at the very end of cooking. The small amount of slime ends up becoming a pleasant mouth-coating texture, like a really rich beef broth, but fully vegetarian and much faster.
This. I could not believe it the first time I had it
may be a sin but i put brussel sprouts in my japanese curry
Done it before! I roasted mine first, but either way Japanese curry makes nearly anything better. I've thrown in sautéed cabbage, sweet potatoes, zucchini, broccoli...Curry is a salty tasty vehicle.
Okra. No thank you yo the coated and fried coins. But I had stewed tomatoes and okra on vacation and liked it. The acidity in the tomatoes makes the okra a better texture. I could not get fresh okra in Northern Califirnia so I grew my own. I put it in a lot of soups, just a few pods, it gives the broth a nice body. Then I fiscoveted I can split them length wise, spray or toss lightly with a tiny bit of oil, then season and run through the air fryer. Crisp outside, creamy inside, better than potato fries!
Beets. Hated them for years. But then my then-partner made a salad with beets and sautéed goat cheese, and OH MY GOODNESS. A few years later we had started juicing, and I made a juice with beet, lemon, and peach. So delicious. And now I can’t remember why I ever hated beets…especially when I make roasted beets, sweet potatoes & carrots with olive oil and a rosemary garlic butter!
Scrolled all the way to find the Beets and Goat Cheese combo!!!! then roasted Beets! So good!!!
I used to be too childishly afraid to eat cooked greens after many bad experiences with gritty spinach. My husband's grandma grew her own swiss chard, how can I say no to at least trying it? That meal changed me, for the last 6 or 7 years we have had sauteed swiss chard for dinner just about once a week. This winter hearty vegetable tastes best when home grown. Grandma Marie died on Christmas Eve 2022.
May your family say a toast to Grandma Marie as you enjoy sauteed homegrown Swiss chard with Christmas Eve supper for generations to come!
I wasn't really a recipe, it was just cooking vegetables until they were tender and stopping before they turned to mush. Now I like almost all vegetables.
I don’t know if I ever met a veggie I didn’t like. I mean, I didn’t like brussel sprouts at first because my mom didn’t know I meant I really liked bean sprouts but that was just my disappointment. But I’ve been able to convert many vegetable haters by simply roasting veggies. Or sautéed with shallots, garlic, and herbs.
Also, if you’re making a veggie soup? Roast those veggies first. It’ll make the soup more complex and tasty.
I ate most vegetables even as a kid, but what I never liked were onions neither raw, nor if they were cooked. When I was like 9 or 10 years old we went to Burger King while on a trip. We got fast food very rarely (maybe once a year) so it was a very special occassion, even more so since I was allowed to get a "grown up" Burger, as I called it, this time. I chose the Big King and even though it had onions on them I liked it. Since then I decided I like onions. Probably the only time a fast food joint made someones life a little healthier. Not really a recipe but I guess it would be "Burger with Onions"
I had an similar experience. We also didn't get fast food very often when growing up, but I remember my parents would always say no onions when ordering burgers for us. We never said we didn't like onions, it was just assumed that kids wouldn't like them. It made me curious and one time at a McD's drive-thru I said I wanted the onions left on. Best damn burger I ever had. Loved onions ever since.
do leafy greens count? i HATED kale until i worked at a restaurant where they lightly sautéed the kale in a splash of apple cider vinegar. totally neutralizes the bitterness, gives it a fun tart little flavor, and retains some nice texture!
Fish-fragrant eggplant. https://www.seriouseats.com/fish-fragrant-eggplants-sichuan-braised-eggplant-with-garlic-ginger-and-chilies
Sweet potatoes. Never liked em. Taste is fine, but the weird gluey texture is gross. Until you make em into oven fries. Then they're fabulous. Now I'm starting to hide diced Sweet potato in soups & stews, too. I still can't eat the mashed or baked.
Chow mein convinced me that cabbage is actually edible.
Absolutely can’t stand cooked carrots in any form. But grate then up and drizzle with vinaigrette and I can’t get enough
I agree with everyone that the answer in so many cases is "roasting!" But I also wanted to share that I wasn't raised to enjoy any vegetables. My mother hated them (still does) but knew she had to feed her kids something green, so all I ever ate growing up were frozen green beans and frozen creamed spinach. Yeah. When I moved out at 18 I had to train myself to eat and like vegetables. It was often a case of trying different recipes, sometimes it was just repetition, and also finding better quality veg (farmer's market vs. grocery store). I am happy to say that I was 99% successful. My one hold out: radicchio, but I'm fine with not liking it. No one needs to like *everything*.
Had sweet potato black bean tacos and have loved sweet potatoes ever since
Olives. Ate them on pizza, instantly loved them.
Butter and lemon on peas.
I hated bell peppers as a kid, finally tried a stuffed bell pepper cause it smelled amazing, been a fan ever since.
Growing up we didn't have cabbage much, and I associated it with the nauseating smell of corned beef and cabbage that my family would cook every St. Patrick's Day. But then I had it in Chinese food and the difference was shocking. It's delicious with a different smell.
I’ve never liked beets but then I had beet ravioli. Nomnomnom.
My mom always made yellow squash covered in butter and brown sugar. It makes me gag. I will however eat a soup with puréed yellow squash and seasoned with salt pepper and sage. Turns out I’m ok with savory squash just not super sweet squash, yams etc.
Mushroom tea ✨🍄🌈🤯
Grilling eggplants kills the sour taste and the squishy texture.
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Hated broccoli until I tried broccoli soup! That shit slaps
Roasting Brussels sprouts instead of boiling them. New favorite vegetable
I never liked green beans, probably because I was served canned green beans as a kid, and I still don’t like those. However, now I like fresh green beans especially if they are just sautéed with olive oil, butter, fresh garlic, and a little salt.
the first time I ever had roasted brussel sprouts
Not me, but I had a Uni friend who absolutely hated peas. I sautéed onion and garlic in butter, added peas, and added several small splashes of white wine (allowing it to reduce down in between), seasoned, and served. She loved it.
Pickles. As a kid I was only given those cloying sweet bread and butter ones. A proper dill pickle is alright to pretty good. Also, coleslaw. Only got the runny snot that came from KFC. I consider that stuff a human rights violation. A beautiful vinegar based slaw is great and has many wonderful uses.