Consider time, cooking skills, dietary needs, and preferences when choosing a vegetable entree. Vegetables are a popular and versatile choice for appetizers, such as raw vegetables with dip, vegetable puree dips, and carved vegetable bowls. Richer vegetable entrees can include eggs or cheese, and frozen options are available for time-constrained cooks.
When choosing a vegetable entree, it’s best to consider personal time constraints, cooking skills, and the tastes of friends and family who will be eating it. A cook who is short on time or has little cooking experience should stick to vegetable entrees that are easy to prepare or buy them pre-prepared. A wise cook will also consider any special dietary needs, allergies or preferences. Health-conscious eaters may not like fried mushrooms, while vegetarians and vegans will enjoy a vegetable entree made without any animal products. Since appetizers are eaten before the main meal and often while standing or in conversation, they should be easy to eat with one hand and in one or two bites.
By definition, an appetizer is a prelude to the dishes of a larger meal and is intended to stimulate the appetite, although it can help ease the wait for a meal that takes a long time to prepare. A vegetable appetizer is an excellent way to achieve both of these means and increase the nutritional content of the meal. Because these foods are lighter than those containing grains and proteins, vegetables are a popular and versatile choice for an appetizer.
Perhaps the simplest way to serve a vegetable appetizer is to offer a selection of raw vegetables cut into sticks and served with a dip. These crudités often consist of carrot sticks, celery and any other greens that can be cut into small pieces and eaten raw. They are often served with a creamy dip, such as a salad dressing, or a bean dip, such as hummus made with garbanzo beans.
Sometimes the vegetable appetizer can make up for the dip itself. Guacamole, salsa, and baba ghanouj are all examples of dips made from pureed or chopped vegetables. Mexican guacamole is usually made with avocado and seasonings but can also be made with peas, asparagus, or other green vegetable puree.
Salsa can be made from tomatoes; onions; and other vegetables, fruits and condiments. Like guacamole, salsa can be served with tortilla chips for dipping. Baba ghanouj is a Middle Eastern vegetable appetizer made from pureed eggplant that tastes great with baked potato chips.
A few appetizer creations can bridge the gap between art and food for the more ambitious cook. Due to the stiff structure of many vegetables, they can be carved and hollowed out and used to serve richer fillings. A cucumber, with the strips of skin removed, can be cut into 1- to 2-cm pieces, hollowed out, and filled with either a deviled egg filling or a mayonnaise-based sauce. Radishes can be halved and carved into edible bowls for various fillings. Herb garnishes and curly vegetable peel shavings can add an aesthetic flair to these miniature works of art.
If a meal is going to be light, a richer vegetable entree that contains ingredients such as eggs or cheese is appropriate. Mini cheese and vegetable tarts and vegetable omelettes and eggs cooked in mini muffin pans can make a good vegetable entree for those who want heartier entrees. Almost any vegetable can be fried and served with a spicy or rich dip. Vegetable quesadillas, which are simply vegetables and cheese melted between two tortillas, can be cut into small pieces and served with a tomato sauce.
For a time-constrained cook, the best vegetable entree to make may be one that requires the least preparation. Marinated olives and mushrooms can be purchased at many salad shops and delis. The freezer section of your local grocery store holds a plethora of frozen vegetable appetizer choices that take only a few minutes in the oven to prepare.
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