For a holiday feast to feel memorable as it does delicious, ensuring that the side dishes accompanying the star roast is a great way to celebrate local, seasonal produce. While keeping the integrity of an ingredient intact, what also works wonders is pairing it with the right kind of cooking technique and flavouring elements, in order to best showcase its flavour and texture. Using Usha’s Steam Oven with multiple cooking settings means that a New Year’s Eve party can proceed with the assurance that food will be warm, comforting and most of all, deliciously indulgent. Present vegetables in new and improved versions while also catering to a variety of dietary preferences, without the hassle of meticulous peeling, chopping and slaving at the stove.
Warm Potato Salad
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New potatoes are in abundance during the winters and while a roasted or mashed potato is timeless and delicious, a warm salad is even better given how many ingredients and flavours one can play around with. Steam the potatoes in the oven until soft but firm before tossing them in a ranch-inspired dressing along with blanched green beans, bacon bits and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Spoon the salad over a piece of toast or pair with a portion of fried chicken for the ultimate indulgent meal.
BBQ Pumpkin
Given the seasonality of the vegetable and as a way to promote more plant-based eating, roasting thickly cut wedges of sweet pumpkin before they are brushed with a barbecue sauce can be a delicious accompaniment to a roast chicken or pork. The fibrous vegetable attains a soft, puddling-like texture which makes it easy to enjoy with some extra sauce or over a salad. Swap the sweet-sour barbecue sauce with a citrus-forward mojo sauce further flavoured with onions, garlic and thyme.
Cheesy Broccoli
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Perhaps the easiest side dish of all time, the cheesy broccoli uses two key ingredients—broccoli florets and freshly grated cheddar cheese. Blanch the cruciferous vegetable for a couple of minutes before drizzling some olive oil, salt and pepper all over it generously. Bake it briefly in the steam oven for a few minutes before adding the cheese and roasting it until the dairy is melted, bubbly and caramelised. Perfect to enjoy as it is, this cheesy side dish is also a great leftover to enjoy with some rice.
Maple Carrots
The inherent sweet earthiness of winter carrots is further highlighted in this preparation where halves of the root vegetable are crisped up in the oven before they are generously basted with a spicy maple glaze. Save some of the sweet dressing to serve on the side and liberally garnish the carrots with fresh herbs such as coriander, thyme and sage. Contrast the dominant sweet profile with globs of whipped feta dotted over the carrots for a salty-sweet bite in each morsel.
Cauliflower Cheese
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This British roast dinner classic can give any regular mac and cheese a run for its money! Think firm florets of cauliflower doused in a cheese-laden sauce before it is baked until it develops a golden-brown crust. While the topmost surface develops a pleasant crispness, the inside remains tender and molten. The fondue-like dish can also be boosted with flavours that complement the two main ingredients; use a flourish of spice in the form of gochujang paste or introduce more umami with some sliced mushrooms.
Roasted Cabbage
Imagine a wedge salad on steroids—but with cabbage wedges. Based on preference, interchange the green cabbage with red to further reinforce the festive element into the feast. Dress the cabbage wedges with a rich blue cheese dressing once it is out of the oven. The charred smokiness provided by the vegetable cuts through the richness of the dressing, which can also be elevated with some crushed bacon, chopped chives and a sprinkle of pink peppercorns.