There’s nothing quite like a showstopping central piece to a family feast. You might smoke meats, bring together a beautiful dish, or even try a new cuisine that you haven’t experienced before. But the truth is that while a main piece can often bring with it a delicious showstopping sense of theatricality, it’s often the sides, which could be considered the “supporting acts,” that make a massive difference here.
Becoming a better home cook often means trying to perfect your creative and technical knowledge to the point where you can do a lot of little things well, not one thing perfectly. This way, no matter what you cook, you’ll always have something worth eating, and you’ll always find a sense of diversity in the kitchen.
But how can you perfect your sides in the first place? In this post, we’ll give some suggestions, and of course, none of this will run counter to the delicious recipes or secrets that might have been passed down in your family so far, which will always take precedence:
- Roasted, Amazing Vegetables
Caramelized and tender vegetables are delicious and can be thoroughly easy to make. For example, you might decide to line up some roasted asparagus, and drizzle them with salt, pepper and oil. You can even place full cloves of garlic or onions to add even more flavor.
When lined on a baking sheet and placed in the oven, your vegetables will take on an intensivfied flavor as the moisture is slowly evaporated from them in the hot environment. Moreover, you can even use these roast vegetables to add more flavor to current dishes, such as by chopping up your roasted greens or carrots and infusing them in the mashed potatoes you place in those side dishes. Not only is this a beautiful way to eat healthy ingredients, but it looks and tastes incredible.
- Mexican Street Corn Salad (Esquites)
This wonderful recipe for Mexican street corn salad (Esquites), is a twist on the traditional Mexican street food style known as Esquites. Not only is it spicy and tangy, but really brings out the flavor of the corn, and as such is a delicious side dish you can pair with a range of other beautiful staple dishes.
Not only is this utterly healthy, but the tangy yet non-offensive flavor profile really contributes other proteins you may have at the table. It’s easy to prepare, can be prepared in vast quantities cheaply, and tastes wonderful. Give it a try!
- Sauteed Mushrooms & Spinach
Sometimes, all you need are two ingredients that speak to one another to provide joy to your table. Sauteed mushrooms, perhaps prepared with a little butter and some garlic seasoning, can taste delicious with a range of dishes, especially steaks. But add a little spinach and not only do you make this dish utterly healthy, but creamier, tastier, and with a little more roughage for the mushrooms to work with.
This can be applied to the top of many tasty savory pastries, proteins or even side dishes that we’ve discussed here also. On top of that, sauteed mushrooms take flavor very well, so you can add your own additional ingredients should you wish to. They can be made even healthier by substituting the butter for some low-fat oil and intensifying the flavor with light soy sauce.
- Quinoa Salads
Quinoa salads are super healthy and tasty substitutes to rice dishes or heavier carb compliments, but they are super versatile and tasty. With finely chopped cucumbers, red onions, parsley, mint, and bell peppers, rinsed quinoa can be cooked with care, and will take seasoning in a beautiful manner.
On top of this, quinoa is very cheap to make and very easy to eat without overly filling you up. This means that not only can it be placed in multiple dishes around the gathering table, but your guests can keep enjoying it throughout their meal without ruining their stomach space for the main dishes you’ve put in place. Compared to mac and cheese or other staple but indulgent foods, that’s quite unique, and it also tastes delicious as a result. Moreover, it can be suitable for anyone with specific dietary requirements, for instance vegans who wish to avoid any dairy or animal products at all.
With this advice, you’re sure to perfect your home cooking through perfecting your sides. We can bet that whenever you head to a dinner party, bringing some of those wonderful sides you work on will secure you a future invite every time!
Leave a Reply