Joel's veggie school

Our own taste expert, Joel Waje, teaches you how to cook the best veggies of the season.

It is easy to cook greens!

Are you also one of those who wants to eat more greens, but don´t really know how to get the best taste out of your veggies? Here you have the solution! Joel Waje, taste developer at Santa Maria, teaches you everything you need to know to cook vegetables in the most appetizing ways. Just click the veggies below to learn more.

Beetroot

The beetroot originates from North Africa but has been eaten in Europe for a long time. But it was not really appreciated until the 18th century. The whole plant can be eaten, so do not throw away the tops without trying to fry it or eat it as a salad. In addition to putting nice colour to your dishes, beetroot is incredibly tasty and very versatile. In addition, it contains lots of goods. Scroll down and we will advise you on the best cooking methods so that you can show off at home in the kitc

How to cook beetroots

Pickled

Pickling beetroots is a great way to keep them fresh in the fridge for a long time. This is a good basic recipe for pickling: 1. Put one part vinegar, two parts sugar and three parts water to the boil. Set aside and let cool. 2. Boil the beets in lightly salted water. 3. Peel and cut the beets in the desired shape and put in a clean glass jar. Pour on the syrup and place the jar in the fridge for a few days before the beetroots are ready to be eaten. Tip! Add a seasoning to the syrup before cooking. A classic variant is bay leaves and the whole black pepper grain, but it is possible to season with most things.

Boiled

Perfectly boiled beets will be divine. How to do it: 1. Put salted water to the boil. 2. Add whole unpeeled beets. 3. Boil the beets until they begin to soften with little resistance left in the middle. 4. Peel and enjoy!

Roasted

This cooking method suits the beetroot excellently and brings out its fine natural sweetness. Do like this: 1. Heat up the oven to 200 °C. 2. Peel the beets and cut them into any size. If they are small, it is nice to cook them whole. 3. Place the beets in an oven proof dish. Add salt and cooking oil and mix. 4. Bake in the oven until the beetroots get a nice even colour and start to soften with a little core left in the middle.

Grated, shredded, sliced

The beetroot can be eaten raw, but then preferably grated, shredded or thinly sliced. This is perfect for salads and other dishes. Add some acid, such as lemon or vinegar, to make the beetroot soften a little.

Brussels sprouts

Brussels sprouts have both a sweet and light bitter taste and do also contain a lot of iron and vitamin C. If you prepare them correctly, they taste great! The most common is to boil the brussels sprouts, but it is possible to do so much more. However, the Brussels sprout are delicate: if you over cook them, they loses both in taste and important nutrients. The brussels sprouts resistance to cold makes it well-adapted to the Nordic climate. Scroll down for tips on cooking methods.

How to cook brussels sprouts

Fried

If you fry brussels sprouts, it will have a caramelized tone, finely balanced with the light bitterness of the brussels sprout. Do like this: 1. Cut off the bottom of the brussels sprouts, remove the outermost leaves and split them in half. 2. Heat a frying pan with oil to medium heat. 3. Fry the brussels sprout until it has a nice, even colour and begins to soften with a little core left. Add salt and pepper and, preferably, a little bit of butter in the end.

Boiled

Here's how to cook brussels sprouts in the most classic way: 1. Put salted water to the boil. 2. Cut of the bottom part of the brussels sprouts and remove the outermost leaves. 3. Boil the brussels sprouts until they begins to soften but still has a little core left in the middle. Tip! Add one dollop of butter to the water for extra nice taste.

Roasted

Prepare your Brussels sprouts in the oven: 1. Heat the oven to 175 °C. 2. Cut of the bottom from the brussels sprout, remove the outermost blades and split them in half. 3. Place the brussels sprouts in an oven proof dish and mix with oil and salt. 4. Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the brussels sprout has a nice colour and is soft with a little core left in the middle.

Jerusalem artichoke

The artichoke's lumpy appearance may not make it the most beautiful vegetable, but when it comes to taste it is absolutely amazing! The first thing to think about when you hear artichoke is perhaps the classic artichoke soup, but it can be used to so much more. Originally the artichoke comes from North America, but has been cultivated in the north for a couple of centuries. It is well adapted to our climate as temperatures below zero does´nt affect it. Check out our best cooking tips below.

How to cook Jerusalem artichoke

Oven roasted

By oven roasting the artichokes you get a sweet and nutty taste that accompanies many other dishes. You can roast them with or without peeling first. Do like this: 1. Heat the oven to 220 °C. 2. Rinse the Jerusalem artichokes, if you roast them with the peel on, or peel them. 3. Put the artichokes into an oven proof dish and mix with oil and salt. 4. Roast in the oven until they get nice colour and have softened.

Chips

The artichoke is incredibly tasty to slice thinly and fry into chips. They suits perfectly as topping to salads, entrees, main dishes or just as a snack. Do like this: 1. Heat oil in a saucepan or a fryer to 120 °C. 2. Slice the artichoke really thin, preferably with a mandolin. Place the slices in water directly so that they do not begin to discolour. 3. Drain and wipe of the chips, making sure to remove as much of the water as possible. 4. Fry the chips until the oil stops bubbling. Pick up the chips and put them on paper to drain. Tip! If you do not have a fryer or do not dare to fry in a saucepan, you can mix around the artichoke slices with rapeseed oil and salt and spread them on an oven tray and bake them at 130 °C in the oven until crisp.

Puree

Artichoke puree is amazingly tasty. A puree that is best suited to fish or vegetarian food. It is possible to make puree with both unpeeled and peeled artichokes. Procedure: 1. Peel or rinse the artichokes and divide them into smaller pieces. Peel and finely chop an onion. 2. Fry the onion and artichoke in rapeseed oil. Then cover with milk and a large dollop of butter and simmer until the artichokes are soft and almost fall apart. 3. Drain the liquid, but save it. Mix the artichokes together with a large dollop of butter and some of the cooking liquid to the desired consistency. Season with salt.

Pointed cabbage

Cabbage is a very underestimated vegetable that can be so much more than pizza salad. With the correct cooking method and flavouring, the cabbage can be mouthwatering even to the most picky eater. Cabbage is used diligently by skilled chefs, probably because it's a simple vegetable that with some easy moves can be lifted into something absolutely amazing. Scroll down and read how!

How to cook pointed cabbage

Oven baked

When oven baking pointed cabbage it brings out the nice, balanced and natural sweetness. Pre heat the oven to 225 ° C. Cut the cabbage into 4-6 paieces, keep the stalk to prevent the cabbage from falling apart. Rub the cabbage with oil, salt or a good spice mix and bake in the oven until the cabbage gets a nice color and is soft with some resistance in the middle.

Boiled

Boiling a pointed cabbage in a good broth is a great way to cook it. Season a good broth and simmer the cabbage until it is soft but still have some resistance in the middle. Remember to keep some of the stalk so that the cabbage does not break apart when cooking. A tip is to fry the boiled cabbage in a hot pan with a little butter.

Raw marinated

The pointed cabbage is also good for eating without hot cooking. You will get the best result if you slice it thinly and marinate with some acid eg. lemon or vinegar. The acid breaks down the structure of the cabbage slightly and softens it. Add more vegetables and enjoy the raw marinated cabbage as an accompaniment or as a fresh salad.

Celeriac

This naturally umami rich root has many uses and helps to naturally enhance the taste of the food. We want the celeirac to have a common place at home in your fridge and in your dishes. Raw it is a bit pungent, but cooked very it has a sweet and round flavour. Below you will find our best tips and tricks to cook this knotty root fruit.

How to cook celeriac

Ovenbake whole

Baking a whole celeriac in the oven is super easy and gives it a nice round and sweet taste. The method is simple: peel the celeriac and rub with salt and oil and bake in the oven at 150 ° C until the celeriac is soft all the way through. Slice up the celeriac and serve as an accompaniment. It may take up to 2 hours to bake a celery whole, but it is definitely worth it!

Puree

Celeriac, are like potatoes, perfect to make into puree. Cut the celeriac into smaller pieces and cook with milk and butter until it is soft and breaks apart. Drain and mix smoothly with some of the cooking liquid. Season with salt. Celeriac puree is perfect for both fish, meat and vegetables.

Oven baked

Roasted celeriac is incredibly good and fits a lot. Roasting it on high heat gives it a slightly carmellized sweet taste. It is done this easy: set the oven to 220 ° C. Peel and cut the celeriac in desired size pieces. Mix with oil and salt and roast until the celeriac has a nice colour and is soft all the way through. Serve in a good salad, like an appetizer or as an accompaniment.

Butternut squash

Pumpkins are available in many shapes and sizes, but in common they all have the wonderful sweet and nutty flavor. Perhaps the butternut squash is not the obvious choice in the vegetable counter, but here you get inspiration and help with cooking methods and recipes. Read more below on how to cook your butternut squash.

How to cook butternut squash

Pickled

It is possible to pickle most vegetables, including the butternut squash: cut it into small cubes. Boil a 1,2,3 syrup, add the butternut squash and remove from the heat. Let it cool. Spice up the syrup with black pepper, bay leaves and herbs. Serve the pickled butternut squash as a topping for both hot and cold dishes.

Oven roasted

It is very nice to roast the butternut squash in the oven. Then the natural sweetness appears fine. Peel and core the butternut squash and cut in any size. Salt and mix with oil. Roast in the oven at 200-220 ° C until it is soft but has a little resistance. The butternut squash is ideal to almost any other dish.

Puree

Making a purée of butternut squash gives a good and colourful accompaniment. Peel, cut and boil the butternut squash in water with a big click of butter. Drain and mix smooth with a hand blender with another big click of butter. Add salt to taste. A good tip is to shred some lemon peel into the puree to enhance the taste - lemon and butternut squash work really well together.

Joel Waje

Joel Waje is one of several taste developers at Santa Maria. He comes from a family filled with professional and hobby cooks and cookbook writers, and he knew early that food would be in focus of his career.

Joel has a long experience as a restaurant chef and his philosophy is to put the vegetables in focus and to choose meat, fish or poultry more as an accessory. As a child, Joel gladly helped the parents with the vegetable cultivation and for him it is important to not let anything go to waste; Even a crooked carrot is a good carrot.

Joel's veggie school

It is easy to cook greens!

Beetroots, brussels sprouts & Jerusalem artichokes

Vegetarian mushroom- & pearl barley risotto with brussels sprouts

Jersusalem artichoke puree with aubergine

Beetroot with almonds & spicy browned butter

Winter salad with oven roasted Brussel sprouts, kale, apple and roasted walnuts

Pickled beetroots

Fried Brussels sprouts with Gremolata and Parmesan

Oven roasted Jerusalem artichokes with herb butter

Tomato tartar with roasted chili mayo & Jerusalem artichoke chips

Beetroot carpaccio with horseradish & yogurt

Autmn´s best recipes

Whole baked celeriac with autumn mushrooms, chicken and herb cream

Autumn cabbage salad with vinegar-cooked pork belly

Pickled butternut squash

Biryani with butternut squash & roasted cashews

Spice boiled pointed cabbage

Roasted celeriac with parmesan & browned garlic butter

Butternut squash puree with quickly preserved lemon

Celeriac puree with lemon

Oven baked pointed cabbage with chilli dressing

Joel Waje