How Antonia Lofaso Takes Veggie Dishes To The Next Level

It can be difficult to find ways to make your everyday veggie dishes interesting — and just as difficult to make them tasty enough to stand up to the main course. Luckily, celebrity chef Antonia Lofaso, who you may know from her appearances on shows such as "Top Chef" and "Chopped," has an easy solution, which she shared with Daily Meal when we spoke to her at the New York City Wine & Food Festival. "When you're looking at your veggie side dishes, turn them into part of your dinner," she said, adding, "If I'm doing a broccolini and I'm serving it with Italian food, [I] put some garlic breadcrumbs and a ton of herbs [on it]."

This is a go-to tip Lofaso says she often shares. To try out her suggestion, start with a recipe for simple roasted classic vegetables, then add the crucial crunch element with breadcrumbs and serve it alongside your favorite iconic Italian dish to make your entire meal more cohesive.

Giving your veggies an Italian spin is just the beginning, and so is keeping them as a side dish. If you're making chicken enchiladas or another south-of-the-border entrée and want to include veggies, it's all about the spices. "If I'm making something more Mexican-inspired, I'm using cauliflower," Lofaso said, suggesting, "Dust everything with cumin and coriander and a little bit of chili, and roast it."

If you don't like cauliflower, swap it out for your veggie of choice, but stick with the seasoning. You can even replace the chicken altogether and make vegetarian enchiladas to highlight your seasoned veggies in the main course. Use za'atar, the Middle Eastern seasoning blend commonly used in Mediterranean cooking, then serve those veggies alongside or as the main contents of a gyro.

Cooking vegetables along with all the right spices can make them the star of the show. "It's not just that I got my veggies in; I steamed some cauliflower," Logaso explained, adding that it all comes down to the flavors you're putting into the main dish. "Think about the same spices, same herbs, same sandbox the rest of the food comes from, and make your veggies like that."