I’d Be Hard Pressed to Find a Better Way to Take Advantage of Spring Veggies!
I doubt it was a coincidence when my craving for green vegetables happened to occur at the same time as winter is winding down. I enjoy a good stew or braise as much as the next person, but then comes the time when the days start getting longer, and green vegetables keep popping into my head.
I’m talking about the kind of green vegetables that have hardly been cooked. No roasting or sautéing involved here. I want the veggies crisply tender, so that they not only taste purely of themselves, but are able to be used as dippers for a spicy aioli. And as I’ve mentioned in the past, food tastes better to me when I can eat it with my hands – no utensils to get between me and my food.
As for the aioli, I use J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s technique and whip it up with my immersion blender, so it only takes minutes. And no, this is not a true aioli which is only made with garlic, oil, and lemon juice. What I make is actually a glorified homemade mayonnaise, but it is what is now commonly referred to as aioli in our culture.
When making it, you need a container that isn’t much larger in diameter than the bottom of your immersion blender. I use the canister that came with my blender, but a large glass measuring cup, etc. would also work. Just make sure the eggs are at room temperature, otherwise it may not emulsify. I added rice vinegar, dijon mustard, a little agave syrup, a small garlic clove, salt, and plenty of sweet Hungarian paprika. Vegetable oil and hot chili powder finished it up wonderfully. It’s best to make this at least a half hour ahead of time in order to give the flavors a chance to fully develop.
I prep the vegetables by a quick blanch in salted boiling water and then a plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. I then spread them out to dry on kitchen towels, after which they can either be served at room temperature or transferred to the fridge to chill.
There are several advantages to treating green vegetables this way. For instance, I like to buy a couple pounds of green beans at a time. I bring them home, prep them as described, and then use them throughout the week in different ways. They’re perfect for a quick sauté with garlic and olive oil one day, and then a potato and green bean salad on another day, or added to a stir fry, etc.
It is so handy to have the vegetables ready for the rest of the week. They stay fresher longer this way, too. I cut up some of the prepped asparagus, sugar snap peas, and broccoli, and at the last minute I added them to a quick and easy chicken stock soup later in the week.
I could go on and on and on about the many ways I incorporate the veggies into my meals, but I’m sure you get the picture. It’s so nice to have them ready to be added to salads, pastas, or any of the other ways I’ve mentioned. And if you’ve got them prepped and ready to go, you’ll be much more likely to eat more vegetables, which is a good thing all the way around.
So, I encourage you to go ahead and buy several pounds of fresh green vegetables, prep them as described, eat some of them with only a squeeze of lemon juice before dipping them into a luscious spicy aioli, and then enjoy the rest throughout the week as our weather continues to mellow out. Wouldn’t a green vegetable quiche be a thing of beauty about now?
Crisp Green Vegetables with Spicy Aioli
Quickly blanched green beans, sugar snap peas, asparagus, and broccoli are placed on a platter with lemon wedges and broccoli sprouts, along with a spicy homemade aioli for dipping. Is this a beautiful and delicious Spring Veggie Platter or what??!!
4
servingsKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
Sugar snap peas, trimmed
Green beans, trimmed
Asparagus, trimmed
Broccoli florets
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
Broccoli sprouts, optional
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon agave syrup or maple syrup
1 small garlic clove, grated
1.5 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika
Fine sea salt
2 cups vegetable oil
Hot chili powder, cayenne pepper, etc. to taste
Directions
- The amount of vegetables depends on how much you want to serve. This is strictly up to you. Use 1 variety or use all 4. You will want about a pound in total for 4 people. As I mentioned, I prep several pounds of vegetables at a time and keep them chilled in the fridge for use during the week. Prepare a large bowl of ice water and set aside. Place a clean kitchen towel on your counter. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the sugar snap peas, let cook for 30 - 45 seconds. Immediately remove the peas from the pot and plunge them into the ice water. As soon as they are chilled, remove them with a slotted kitchen and spread them out on the kitchen towel in order to dry.
- Repeat with the green beans, asparagus, and broccoli, but cook each of these vegetables for 2 minutes before removing from the boiling salted water. I find that I can use the same pot of water for the sugar snap peas, green beans, and asparagus, if I cook them in that order. Asparagus should be the last because it imparts its flavor into the water. A fresh pot of water is then needed for the broccoli.
- Using fresh kitchen towels, blot the vegetables dry. They may be served at room temperature or placed in covered containers or plastic bags to chill.
- In a container that is almost the same size as the bottom of your immersion blender, place the eggs, rice wine vinegar, dijon mustard, agave syrup, grated garlic, paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt. Pour on the oil and allow it to rest for about 15 seconds. Place the blender into the container and turn it on high. Blend without moving the head of the blender until the ingredients start to emulsify. Tilt and move the blender around until the aioli is fully blended. Taste for seasoning. You will probably need to add salt and perhaps a little more vinegar. At this point add as much hot chili powder as you’d like, tasting as you go. Place the aioli in the fridge and let chill for at least 30 minutes. More than likely, you will have leftover aioli which can be used in sandwiches, salad dressings, etc.
- Arrange the vegetables on a platter, using whatever amounts you’d like, along with the aioli, lemon wedges and optional broccoli sprouts. You can either dip the vegetables in the aioli or spoon some onto individual servings of the vegetables. Enjoy!
2 Responses
We are aioli nuts in our household. I serve it with everything but cereal. But this recipe is new and unique. I will definitely be trying this one.
Thank you, Lynn!! I’m so happy to hear this. Please let me know how you like it!