Roasting frozen vegetables in olive oil instead of boiling or steaming keeps them crisp, caramelised, and full of flavour while preserving nutrients, according to a simple kitchen technique.
Frozen vegetables straight from the freezer are a convenient way to get nutrients onto your dinner plate, yet they frequently turn out soggy and mushy when thrown into a pan on the hob. Boiling or steaming frozen vegetables has long been the go-to approach due to its simplicity, but the fundamental problem with these cooking methods is that they introduce far too much moisture.
Why boiling and steaming fail
Vegetables already release considerable amounts of water as they defrost, meaning steaming them or submerging them in boiling water simply leaves them limp and rather unappetising. It can also cause much of the natural sweetness within the vegetables to dissipate, leaving you with a side dish that is woefully short on both taste and texture.
After a bit of experimentation, however, a straightforward solution has emerged for producing lazy yet flavoursome dinners — you simply need a splash of olive oil.
The olive oil method
Roasting frozen vegetables in olive oil allows any excess water to evaporate swiftly, ensuring they cook more uniformly and begin to brown. This process caramelises the natural sugars within the vegetables, resulting in a crispy, perfectly golden finish.
Olive oil also imparts a rich depth of flavour to the vegetables, helps retain their natural sweetness, and allows seasoning to adhere during cooking, making them considerably more flavoursome.
Beyond texture, steaming or boiling frozen vegetables not only renders them soft and unpleasant, but many of their nutrients are water-soluble, meaning they tend to leach out throughout the cooking process. Olive oil ensures the vegetables retain their nutritional value while also helping them dry out swiftly, resulting in a far superior taste that transforms them into a side dish you'll genuinely relish.
What makes roasting appealing
What makes roasting frozen vegetables so appealing is that it requires just five to ten minutes of preparation, with no need to monitor them constantly, making it every bit as straightforward as boiling or steaming.
How to make tastier frozen vegetables
You will need:
- One bag of frozen vegetables (around 500g)
- Two tablespoons of olive oil
- One teaspoon of garlic powder
- One teaspoon of smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper
Method:
Simply preheat the oven to 220°C, place a baking tray inside and allow it to heat up for five to ten minutes. A preheated tray encourages moisture to evaporate rapidly from the frozen vegetables, helping them crisp up nicely, whereas placing them on a cold tray will leave them sitting in their own liquid for too long.
While the tray is heating up, place the frozen vegetables into a large bowl and add the garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables and gently combine with a large spoon until everything is thoroughly and evenly coated.
It's perfectly acceptable to season the vegetables directly on the hot tray if you'd prefer to use fewer dishes. However, exercise considerable caution to avoid burns and work swiftly to prevent the tray from losing heat.
Once the tray is sufficiently hot, use oven mitts to remove it from the oven and spread the vegetables out in a single layer. Ensure there are gaps around the larger pieces and avoid allowing them to overlap one another.
Then, simply place them in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Once the time has elapsed, flip them over and cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes.
This cooking technique requires a little longer than boiling or steaming them, but it guarantees the end result is worthwhile to achieve some crispy and flavoursome vegetables. After the vegetables are cooked, remove them from the oven, and they should appear perfectly caramelised. You can garnish them with some parmesan cheese, lemon juice or chilli flakes for additional flavour if desired.
