We Vegetarians / Every day

Cooking components, not meals

The batch cooking that actually gets eaten.

Batch cooking complete meals produces a freezer of identical portions that become unappealing by the third repetition. Cooking components rather than dishes solves this and takes the same time.

A pot of legumes, a tray of roasted vegetables, a grain, a sauce and something pickled will combine into a week of different meals, because the combinations vary even though the components do not. Nothing is eaten twice in the same configuration.

The component that most repays the effort is a good sauce or dressing, because it changes the character of everything it touches. A jar of something sharp and herbaceous will make five different assemblies taste distinct.

This also fits the actual constraint on weeknight cooking, which is not cooking time but decision and preparation time. Assembly from prepared components takes ten minutes and requires no decisions.

The other component worth keeping ready is something acidic and sharp: a quick pickle, preserved lemon, or a jar of onions in vinegar. It takes ten minutes to make, keeps for weeks, and it is the element that most often rescues a meal that has come out flat.