Here at El Nacional, we're kicking of a month of healthier recipes from our chef, Oscar Manresa of Barcelona's Casa Leopoldo with a great vegetable stir-fry.
So, what's different about this recipe? Well, using sesame oil and soy sauce instead of your normal oil and salt gives it a Chinese twist whilst a sprinkling of turmeric gives it an exotic finish. But what is turmeric?
Turmeric rhizome, dried and ground to a powder, is used across South Asia and the Middle East as a spice and for its strong yellow colour. It can be found in curries, pickles and a variety of other dishes which it gives a warm, slightly bitter taste. It's also used in traditional medicine around Asia.
It's also a very flexible recipe, using a variety of fresh, seasonal vegetables that you can switch around a bit depending on what you find in your local store and what you like.
Ingredients for 2 (sample):
- 1/2 cauliflower
- 1 carrot
- 1 courgette/zucchini
- 1/2 broccoli
- 8 green asparagus
- 4 mushrooms (Oscar uses bloody milk caps)
- 4 green beans
- 1/2 small onion
- Sesame seeds (toasted, if you have them)
- Sesame oil
- Soy sauce
- Turmeric
Recipe:
- Chop the vegetables, relatively small and evenly so they'll cook quickly and equally
- Heat a wok (or normal frying pan) with a spoonful of sesame oil
- Once hot, add the vegetables
- As they cook, keep them moving round in the pan to cook evenly
- Near the end of the cooking process, splash over soy sauce to taste
- Once they're cooked, but still have some of their crunch and colour, plate up
- Finish sprinkling over more sesame oil, if you want, along with the sesame seeds and turmeric