Rahmgemüse mit Kartoffeln (creamed vegetables with potatoes)

Method

1. Cover the potatoes with cold salted water and simmer for 20 minutes, until a knife slides in without resistance. Drain and keep warm.
2. Melt the butter in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the carrot and cook for 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and broth, cover, and simmer for 8 minutes, until both are tender but still holding their shape.
3. Stir in the peas and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Pour in the cream and simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 8 minutes, until the sauce visibly coats the back of a spoon.
5. Season with nutmeg, salt and white pepper. Serve alongside the boiled potatoes.

Notes

• Reduce the cream sauce until it actually coats a spoon. A thin, unreduced sauce pools around the potatoes and makes the plate look and taste watery; reducing it properly is the difference between a sauce and cream-flavoured water.
• Cook the vegetables in stages by how long they take, carrots first, then cauliflower, then quick-cooking peas last, so nothing turns to mush waiting for the slowest vegetable.
• Keep the potatoes separate from the vegetables until serving. Boiling them together in the cream sauce releases starch that thickens it unpredictably and makes the potatoes waterlogged.
• Leftovers reheat gently, but the sauce may need loosening with a splash of broth since it thickens further in the fridge.

Ingredient substitutions

• Carrot, cauliflower and peas can be swapped for any combination of vegetables that cook in a similar time, such as green beans or kohlrabi.
• Heavy cream can be replaced with a plant-based cream alternative for a dairy-free version, though the sauce will be thinner.
• A pinch of grated lemon zest stirred in at the end brightens the sauce.