|
This is because in a microwave,
nutritional elements are not soluble - flavour, colour and
nutritional properties are unaltered (with the exception of
vitamins, which do not tolerate high temperatures).
After
cleaning and cutting, place the washed (and dripping)
vegetables in a suitable receptacle, cover and cook. This
method also allows you to give the dish its final preparation.
After the initial stages of preparation, dress and season the
vegetables to taste, so that no further attention is required
once the dish has been taken from the oven. Bear in mind that
oils and fats added during cooking are merely heated, keeping
their original characteristics.
Flowered
vegetables
: cauliflower, artichokes and broccoli do not oxidise, keeping
their colour and flavour. Above all in the case of
cauliflower, there is no telltale odour, while its structure
remains firm.
Bulbous
vegetables:
cooked onions lose their pungent flavour to become sweet,
while maintaining their firmness; the flavour of garlic is
highlighted, its unpleasant aftertaste reduced.
Excellent
results are obtained with root vegetables and tubers, such as
the potato, best cooked in its jacket. Special attentions
should be paid to legumes which, due to their structure and
low water content, need to absorb water to cook. In this case,
and especially when cooking small amounts, use a lower power
setting, particularly at the beginning. There will no be
difference in the final result when the oven is reset to the
specified temperature; cooking is no longer continued, the
food is merely returned to serving temperature, while colour
and texture remain the same.
In
general, it is a good idea to cover the receptacle (as
hermetically as possible) to accelerated cooking time and to
prevent dehydration of the vegetables.
The
whitening stage avoids having to place the vegetables in water
or ice to prevent yellowing and colour fading. Just a few
seconds are necessary to peel tomatoes, husk chestnuts and dry
herbs and flowers. These are only a few examples of oven use
that is complementary to cooking, and will an dealt with in
depth in upcoming issues.
Defrosting:
the microwave oven offers the most efficient way of defrosting
frozen vegetables, in terms of speed and final results,
particularly in the case of leafy vegetables in which the
appearance, structure and weight are largely preserved.
Vegetables are rapidly defrosted, condiments and seasonings
are added, then the oven is set to maximum power to complete
cooking.
I
suggest that my colleagues make their own comparison between
conventional and microwave cooking. Always make sure that the
facility is sufficiently powerful and for professional
applications.
The
intention of the above information is certainly not to suggest
that other systems have become entirely obsolete, though in
some tasks the microwave oven does truly guarantee superior
results.
|
