Our Kin & Crop crew are big fans of frozen vegetables.
While you can’t get much better than fresh and locally grown vegetables, there’s a great advantage to the convenience of having frozen vegetables on hand. Quick and easy to prepare, with no mess or added waste of vegetables skins or ends to deal with. Reducing food waste and saving the day when you’re too busy to start prepping your dinner.
Fresh and locally grown frozen vegetables are highly nutritious and often less expensive than their fresh counterparts (what can get better, when you can save yourself $ as well?). But make sure when you’re looking out for your favourite vegetables in the frozen aisle that they’re 100% New Zealand grown and made – no buying overseas product that has been shipping from thousands of miles away and taste anything less than our amazing New Zealand grown produce.
Some studies show that frozen vegetables are now just as nutritious as fresh, with all the technology advancements that allow us to flash freeze immediately after harvest. The key when cooking with frozen vegetables is to heat them for the shortest time possible. This stops them losing vitamins and minerals. Can you remember that time accidentally overcooking frozen veggies – mushy and flavourless slop? Not nice!
But you’ll be pleased to know you can enjoy the taste of roasted vegetables quickly and easily when you know how! Once you try these easy vegetable roasting techniques, you’ll never be left with mushy flavourless veggies again!
Tip 1: Preheat the Roasting pan with Olive Oil
Before you put your frozen vegetables into the oven, make sure the roasting pan is hot. This means the vegetables defrost almost immediately and start right on cooking. Before you put the pan into the oven, drizzle a little bit of olive oil (or coconut oil if you’d rather). This leaves the pan with a thin coating of hot oil ready to start roasting.
Tip 2: Make sure the oven is hot.
So you get perfectly caramelized and roasted vegetables, your frozen vegetables need just as much heat as fresh ones. Set your oven between 180 – 200C to roast frozen vegetables and be sure to leave your vegetables out of the oven until it is up to temperature. Another tip here is to avoid ‘overcrowding’ your pan – all your vegetables should fit in the roasting pan comfortably in a single layer. Roasting in a single layer at high heat helps to quickly evaporate any frozen water that might be on the vegetables so they don’t cook in the steam – you don’t want those mushy vegetables!
Tip 3: Toss the Vegetables in Olive Oil, then start Roasting!
Quickly toss your frozen vegetables with a little bit of olive or coconut oil before evenly spreading them onto the roasting pan. Coating in a little bit of healthy oil ensures that they’ll cook crisply and evenly, and add a little bit of extra flavour. Once the roasted vegetables are done, season with your favourite herbs, spices, sea salt and/or pepper.
Feeling Inspired?
Frozen vegetables, whether they were bought at your local supermarket or come from your own garden, offer a delicious and convenient way to feed your family and friends on healthy food, while also reducing food waste. All Kin & Crop frozen vegetable products are ideal for oven roasting and contain easy to follow cooking instructions right on the pouch. Whether you’re oven roasting our tasty little Kumara Yummo’s or our Orange Kumara Dice, you won’t have to wait long to serve a tasty dish on the dinner table for your crew.
