Vegetable Garnishes
Nothing beats a pretty arrangement of fresh garden vegetables. We've already shown you how common salad vegetables can be used as garnishes.
We have some great ideas for some of your other vegetables, from the green ones to the ones that come in bunches.
We'll show you what to do with onions. We can chat about celery garnishes. If you're not a fan of radishes, after you learn how to use them for garnishing, you might agree that they're as good as roses. And, if you're still interested in vegetables, learn how to prepare fruits and vegetables with our easy step-by-step instructions.
Green Onion Curls
No Asian meal is complete without a heaping bowl of rice. Dress ip the bowl with a delicate green onion curl.
To make green onion curl garnishes:
To make a chilled pasta dish main dish look elegant, serve it on your prettiest salad plates with a celery curl on the side.
To make celery curl garnishes:
Julienne carrots are cut into very thin four-sided strips, also known as matchsticks.
To make matchstick, or julienne, carrots for garnishing:
Turnips are another vegetables that can be made into matchsticks.
To make matchstick, or julienne turnips, for garnishing:
Team a radish fan with some fresh basil leaves; use to trim a chicken main course.
To make radish fan garnishes:
Accent a bowl of creamed peas, beans, or asparagus with a radish rose.
To make radish rose garnishes:
Bundles of vegetables tied with onion or leek strips are ideal for buffet-serving. Guests can place the bundles on their plates quickly and easily.
To make vegetable tie garnishes:
We have all these vegetable garnishes, but no place to put them. We'll solve that problem in the next section as we cover fruit basket garnishes.
We'll show you what to do with onions. We can chat about celery garnishes. If you're not a fan of radishes, after you learn how to use them for garnishing, you might agree that they're as good as roses. And, if you're still interested in vegetables, learn how to prepare fruits and vegetables with our easy step-by-step instructions.
Green Onion Curls
No Asian meal is complete without a heaping bowl of rice. Dress ip the bowl with a delicate green onion curl.
To make green onion curl garnishes:
- Place green onion on cutting board. Cut off roots with paring knife; discard roots.
- Cut onion crosswise into one 3-inch piece, leaving about 1-1/2 inches of both the white onion and green top portions.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
When cutting green onion, leave both
the white and green top portions. - Make lengthwise cut from white end of onion almost to center of piece; repeat to slice end into thin slivers.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Cut to center of piece. - Place onion in cold water (not ice water). Let stand 30 seconds or until ends curl slightly. Remove from water; drain well.
- Garnish as desired.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Garnish with Green Onion Curl,
or Celery Curl, as described below.
To make a chilled pasta dish main dish look elegant, serve it on your prettiest salad plates with a celery curl on the side.
To make celery curl garnishes:
- Trim ends from celery rib; cut into 3-inch pieces. Cut each piece lengthwise in half.
- Make lengthwise cut from end of celery piece almost to center; repeat to slice end into thin slivers.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Slice celery into thin slivers. - Place in ice water and refrigerate until ends curl. Remove from water and drain well before serving.
- Garnish as desired.
Julienne carrots are cut into very thin four-sided strips, also known as matchsticks.
To make matchstick, or julienne, carrots for garnishing:
- Cut a lengthwise strip from carrot so that it can lie flat on cutting board.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Cut a strip so carrot can lie flat. - Cut carrot into 2-inch lengths. Place flat side of piece down on cutting board. Cut lengthwise with utility knife into thin slices.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Cut lengthwise. - Stack a few of the slices. Cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips. Repeat with other slices.
- Garnish as desired.
Turnips are another vegetables that can be made into matchsticks.
To make matchstick, or julienne turnips, for garnishing:
- Cut turnip lengthwise into quarters.
- Place flat side of quarter down on cutting board. Cut lengthwise with utility knife into thin slices.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Cut turnip lengthwise with utility knife. - Stack a few of the slices. Cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips. Repeat with other slices.
Team a radish fan with some fresh basil leaves; use to trim a chicken main course.
To make radish fan garnishes:
- Place radish on cutting board. Cut off top and bottom tip of radish with paring knife; discard.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Cut bottom off radish. - Cut parallel 1/8-inch-thick crosswise slices about three-quarters of the way into radish, making sure not to cut all the way through radish.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Cut parallel slices into the radish.
Don't slice all the way through. - Place radish in ice water. Chill in refrigerator several hours or until radish fans out. Remove; drain well.
- Garnish as desired.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Garnish with Radish Fan.
Accent a bowl of creamed peas, beans, or asparagus with a radish rose.
To make radish rose garnishes:
- Cut off top and bottom tip of radish with paring knife; discard.
- Set radish upright on cutting board. Cut a thin vertical slice down one side of radish with knife, cutting about three-fourths of the way into radish.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Cut a thin slice from the radish. - Make three or four additional slices down sides of radish, spacing slices evenly around radish.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Cut a vertical slice into the radish.
Don't cut all the way through. - If desired, make a second series of cuts about 1/8 inch inside the first set.
- Place radish in ice water until it opens slightly. Remove; drain well. Trim with celery leaves, if desired.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Garnish with Radish Roses.
Bundles of vegetables tied with onion or leek strips are ideal for buffet-serving. Guests can place the bundles on their plates quickly and easily.
To make vegetable tie garnishes:
- Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil.
- Place several green onion tops (or leek tops) on cutting board. Cut tops lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips with paring knife.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Cut tops lengthwise with a paring knife. - Carefully add strips to boiling water in saucepan.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Add strips to boiling water. - Simmer 30 seconds; drain. Place strips in ice water to cool. Remove; drain well. Set aside.
- Peel carrots with vegetable peeler; place on cutting board. Cut off ends with utility knife; discard ends. Cut carrots crosswise into 4-inch pieces.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Cut carrots into 4-inch pieces. - If desired, cut a thin lengthwise slice from carrot to prevent carrot from rolling as you make additional cuts; discard slice. Place the carrot, cut side down, on cutting board. Cut each piece lengthwise 1/4-inch-thick slices.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Cut carrot lengthwise. - Cut 1/4-inch-thick slices lengthwise to make thin, julienne sticks.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Cut into julienne sticks. - Carefully add julienne sticks to boiling water in large saucepan. Simmer 1 minute or until crisp-tender; drain well. Add carrot sticks to ice water to cool thoroughly. Remove; drain well.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Add carrot sticks to boiling water. - Cut green onion strips crosswise into 6-inch lengths.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Cut lengthwise into six-inch strips. - For each bundle, place green onion strip on cutting board. Place 10 to 15 julienne carrot sticks crosswise on strip. Tie strip securely around sticks.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Tie strip around vegetable sticks. - Garnish as desired.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Garnish with Vegetable Ties.
We have all these vegetable garnishes, but no place to put them. We'll solve that problem in the next section as we cover fruit basket garnishes.
