On Seasonings, Sauces, and Edible Garnishes
for Life After Mashed Potatoes

Weaning Ourselves from Cheese-Support

     So much of old-fashioned cooking seemed based on sauces. You could say that vegetables were on sauce-support, because you were mainly aware of the cream sauce, and not the vegetable underneath.
     Now white sauces are in disrepute, perhaps too much so. Yet we seem to have substituted a cheese-support system. We are constantly advised to add generous mozzarella and/or Parmesan cheese to just about everything. This is no improvement over cream sauces as the underlying vegetable remains secondary. In addition, cheese should be eaten in moderation. A steady diet of cheese is not healthy.
     We can wean ourselves from cheese-support. It may be countercultural, but it can be done.
     Alice Waters is the model here. With her Chez Panisse restaurant and cookbooks, she has always espoused a minimalists approach to seasoning of vegetables. She loves the taste of fresh vegetables, and her aim is to enhance this with a little judicious seasoning.
     For chard, braised simply with olive oil and onions, at most she will add a little garlic, pancetta, or lemon juice. She actually thinks that it needs nothing at all, as "the chief virtues of chard cooked this way are its own sweet flavor and a meltingly tender texture." (Chez Panisse Vegatables, see Bookstore.)
     Brussels sprouts can be virtually unseasoned in the same way, while she feels that they can also benefit from more dramatic additions: toasted walnuts, or bacon. 
     Walnuts and bacon are actually not seasonings. They are distinct additions, a sort of edible garnish. In healthy vegetable cooking, these become very important. They can not only add to the appeal of a dish, but provide significant nutritional variety besides.

General Rules for Seasoning Vegetables?

     Seasoning is individual, specific for each vegetable and cooking technique used. A discriminating sensitivity here is what makes a given vegetable truly delicious, far from just something to be eaten for nutrition.
     There is also the matter of variety. Even though we have a favorite seasoning for a given vegetable, we will use something on occasion for variety's sake.
     That said, olive oil and lemon juice (or vinegar) occur in so many recipes that they do seem close to a universal seasoning for vegetables cooked in liquid (but not roasted). If you can’t think of anything else, try these.

     Click for Sauces that do not depend on cream or cheese.
     Click for Edible Garnishes.