Every Guardian recipe begins with “boil the vegetable(s)”. We always steam, believing more nutrients and flavour stay in that way, so why are we out of step with your writers?
Malcolm, Norwich
Right, let’s round up some of the Guardian’s food crew and ask them to explain themselves. First to take the stand is Meera Sodha. “I’m not the sort of person to optimise anything in life, except for pleasure and ease,” she says, so when it comes to vegetables, her answer is easy: “If I’m cooking them into a meal [a curry or pan-fried dish, say], I’ll just put them in the pot or pan with all the other ingredients, where they might cook by frying, simmering or, if there’s a lid involved, part-steaming – I suppose the nutrients are captive then, so that’s a bonus!” If, however, she is serving a side of, for instance, broccoli, she’ll boil it, “because it’s quick, efficient and hands-off, which is important to me, especially if there’s something else on the bubble.” And while Sodha concedes that she could steam (“It just involves a colander and lid, after all”), she won’t be changing her ways any time soon. “I like to get to something as delicious as possible with the least amount of fuss, so boiling will always win.”
For our resident perfectionist Felicity Cloake, however, the cooking method she chooses depends on what she’s making. “I steam if the vegetable is going on the plate naked with salt and oil, because I prefer the texture. But if I was adding it to another dish, I’d blanch rather than boil, because it’s more efficient.” Nutrients-wise, Cloake doesn’t have a policy: “If there are vegetables in there, I’m generally thinking nutrients are happening anyway. Although it’s obviously something to consider, and I will in future, so thank you, Malcolm.”
