Fast, Fresh & Green (8 page)

Once you get on a roll, you can combine two or more vegetables in the same braise (such as carrots, green beans, and asparagus together or broccoli and cauliflower together), as long as you keep the total weight the same and don’t overcrowd the pan. And you can customize this recipe by trying a few variations. Start the sauté by crisping up some pancetta, add ginger or garlic, mix a bit of wine or juice with the chicken broth, or replace the last bit of butter with cream.

Before you start cooking, be sure that your sauté pan has a lid. If you can’t find a lid, you can use the bottom of another sauté pan (of the same size or larger) to cover your pan.

12 Oz to 1 LB/340 TO 455 G YOUR CHOICE OF VEGETABLE (
10 to 12 oz/285 to 340 g trimmed; see the table on
page 58
for choices and how to cut them
)

1 TBSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

1½ TBSP UNSALTED BUTTER

½ TSP KOSHER SALT

¹
/
₃
CUP/80 ML LOW-SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH (
more for some vegetables)

1 TO 2 TSP FRESH LEMON OR LIME JUICE

2 TSP CHOPPED FRESH PARSLEY, CILANTRO, MINT, OR TARRAGON (
optional
)

1
Spread out the vegetables
in a 10-in/25-cm straight-sided sauté pan to see if they fit in one layer with just a little bit of overlapping. If you have too many, put some aside to use another night.

2
Heat the olive oil
and 1 Tbsp of the butter in the sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted and is beginning to foam, add the vegetables and salt and toss well with tongs. Arrange the vegetables in one layer. Cook, without stirring, until the bottoms are nicely browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn over, and cook for another 2 to 4 minutes to lightly brown another side.

3
Reduce the heat
to medium-low, pour in the broth, immediately cover the pan, and simmer until the liquid reduces to 1 to 2 Tbsp, 2 to 3 minutes. The vegetables should be just tender enough to pierce with a fork.

4
Uncover the pan
, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the lemon juice and the remaining ½ Tbsp butter. Toss gently with a silicone spatula just until the butter melts, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the herbs (if using), and transfer the vegetables to a serving dish. Pour the pan sauce over them, scraping it all out of the pan.

Serves 3

I won’t fool you; these asparagus look a bit rustic. But the browning in this recipe (as in so many others in this book) pays off with deep flavor. The glazy pan sauce cloaks the asparagus in even more flavor, and this is one tasty dish. It’s a quick one, too—easy to do in less than 30 minutes. Serve it with pork tenderloin and couscous on a weeknight or sear-roasted pork loin and a grain pilaf on a weekend.

This method works best with asparagus that are of equal thickness—medium or just slightly larger than medium. “Pencils” will overcook. You can do this with jumbos, as long as most of the woody stem is cut off and you add on an extra minute of browning. Whether the asparagus is medium or thick, just be sure that the pan is not overcrowded so that each piece can make contact with the pan surface for browning. For this one, you’ll definitely want your tongs handy for flipping the asparagus over. Also, cover the pan as soon as you pour in the little bit of liquid; it reduces quickly, and it’s the steam—captured by the lid—that finishes cooking the asparagus.

¼ CUP/60 ML LOW-SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH

2 TBSP DRY WHITE WINE,
such as Sauvignon Blanc

1 TBSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

1 TBSP UNSALTED BUTTER

1 BUNCH MEDIUM-THICK ASPARAGUS,
trimmed to 6-in/15.25-cm lengths (yielding about 10 oz/285 g)

¼ TSP KOSHER SALT

1 TSP ROUGHLY CHOPPED FRESH THYME

½ TSP DIJON MUSTARD

1 Combine the broth
and white wine in a liquid measuring cup.

2
In a 10-in/25-cm straight-sided sauté pan
with a lid, heat the olive oil and ½ Tbsp of the butter over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted and is bubbling, add the asparagus and salt and toss well to coat. Arrange in one layer and cook, without stirring, until the undersides are nicely browned, about 4 minutes.

3
Using tongs
, turn over each spear and cook, without stirring, just until the other side is beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully (it will sputter) pour the liquid into the pan and immediately cover it. Simmer until the liquid reduces almost completely (1 or 2 tsp will be left), about 2 minutes. Uncover, remove the pan from the heat, and add the remaining ½ Tbsp of butter, the thyme, and mustard. Stir gently with a silicone spatula to mix the mustard with the melting butter and to incorporate any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Transfer the asparagus to a serving platter or plates and pour the pan sauce over it, scraping all of the sauce out of the pan.

Serves 3

The trick to making the silky pan sauce for these beans is to reduce the pomegranatebalsamic mixture to a syrupy consistency, and then add cold butter. By adding the butter at the last minute off the heat, it will melt just enough to make the sauce creamy and coat the beans. Once the butter’s melted, don’t put the pan back on the stove. Further heat will break the creamy emulsion. I like to transfer the beans and sauce to a serving dish as soon as they’re done; it prevents the sauce from continuing to cook.

Because I like to drink pomegranate juice and use it in sauces, I usually keep a bottle of it in my fridge (I like both POM and Odwalla brands). But if you don’t usually keep this juice on hand, and you find you want to make quick-braised green beans some weeknight, you could substitute orange juice.

1 TBSP POMEGRANATE JUICE

1 TSP BALSAMIC VINEGAR

1 TSP PURE MAPLE SYRUP

½ TSP MINCED FRESH GINGER

2 TBSP UNSALTED BUTTER

1 TBSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

12 OZ/340 G GREEN BEANS, TRIMMED

¾ TSP KOSHER SALT

¹
/
₃
CUP/80 ML LOW-SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH

2 TBSP COARSELY CHOPPED TOASTED PECANS (
see tip on
page 36
)

1
Combine the pomegranate juice
, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and ginger in a small bowl. Cut 1 Tbsp of the butter into 6 pieces and keep them chilled in the refrigerator.

2
In a 10-in/25-cm straight-sided sauté pan
with a lid, heat the olive oil and the remaining 1 Tbsp of butter over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted and is starting to foam, add the green beans and salt and toss to coat well. Using tongs, arrange the green beans in the pan so that as many beans as possible are touching the bottom. Cook, without stirring, until the bottoms are browned, about 4 minutes.

3
Stir the beans
, turning over as many as possible, and cook, arranging the beans as necessary, until most of the beans are lightly browned and feel more pliable, about 4 minutes more. Carefully pour the broth into the pan (it will sputter, but don’t turn down the heat). Cover and cook until all but 1 or 2 Tbsp of the liquid has evaporated (uncover once or twice and swirl the liquid to distribute if necessary), 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover the pan, add the pomegranate juice mixture, and cook, stirring, until it reduces to a syrupy consistency, about 1 minute. (It will bubble quite a bit and lighten in color.) Remove the pan from the heat and add the cold pieces of butter. Stir well with a rubber spatula until the butter is melted and the sauce is creamy. Transfer the beans and sauce to a serving platter or dinner plates and garnish with the toasted pecans.

Serves 3

Quick-braising is one of my favorite ways to cook Brussels sprouts, because browning them first and then simmering them just until done gives them a nutty flavor and a perfect texture. I highly recommend you try this buttery, gingery version on your friends who don’t think they like these little green vegetables. Serve them (the vegetables, not the friends) with smashed potatoes and slices of baked ham or roast pork loin.

Brussels sprouts seem to range in size all over the map these days. I think this is because they’re being grown—and harvested—year-round, and sometimes they’re very mature, almost like mini-cabbages. The amount of liquid in this recipe is designed to be just enough to cook medium-size sprouts that have been cut in half, but it will be fine for slightly larger sprouts, too. If your sprouts are huge or very tiny, adjust the chicken broth up or down by 2 Tbsp. Whatever you do, don’t skip that bit of butter at the end; we’re erring here on the side of being just a little bit decadent. And don’t skimp on the ginger.

2½ TBSP UNSALTED BUTTER

1 TBSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

12 TO 13 OZ/340 TO 370 G BRUSSELS SPROUTS,
trimmed and halved

¾ TSP KOSHER SALT

½ CUP/120 ML LOW-SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH

1 TBSP MINCED FRESH GINGER

1 TSP MINCED FRESH GARLIC

½ SMALL LIME

1
In a 10-in/25-cm straight-sided sauté pan
with a lid, melt 1½ Tbsp of the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Arrange the Brussels sprouts, cut side down, in one layer in the pan. (You’ll have to tuck them in snugly.) Season with the salt. Cook the sprouts until the bottoms are nicely browned, 4 to 6 minutes. (If the heat on your stove top is uneven, rotate the pan so that the bottoms become evenly browned.) Pour the broth into the pan and cover, leaving the lid slightly askew so that some steam escapes. Turn the heat down if necessary so that the broth is just gently simmering.

2
Cook until the broth
is reduced to about 2 Tbsp, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove the lid and add the remaining 1 Tbsp butter, the ginger, and garlic. Toss well and stir just until the butter has melted. Remove the pan from the heat and continue to stir gently until the ginger and garlic are well incorporated and slightly softened. Gently squeeze the lime half over all, toss, and serve.

Serves 4

Baby bok choy is one of my favorite vegetables, though I wish it were around the markets more. Snatch some up when you see it. Quick-braising is a wonderful way to cook baby bok choy, because browning it first accentuates its sweeter side, and simmering it leaves the texture perfectly balanced between crunchy and tender.

Since baby bok choy is a member of the cabbage family (though a mild one), I thought to pair it up with apples and a little bit of apple cider in this quick-braise. It turned out to be a lovely combination. If you have a choice, choose the smallest, most slender vegetables (of equal size). I sometimes see “baby” bok choy that is more like “teenage” bok choy. Larger bok choy will not cook properly with the cooking times and amount of liquid suggested in this recipe. You’ll probably need to wash the bok choy to get out the bits of grit hiding between the lower stalks.

I like these so much that sometimes I just make the whole recipe for myself and eat it with a bowl of brown rice.

3 TBSP LOW-SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH

2 TBSP APPLE CIDER

½ TSP SOY SAUCE

1 TBSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

1 TBSP UNSALTED BUTTER

¼ TSP KOSHER SALT

2 BABY BOK CHOY (
6 to 7 in/15.25 to 17.75 cm long, 2 in/5 cm wide, weighing about 8 oz/225 g), halved lengthwise, washed, and spun dry

½ LARGE GOLDEN DELICIOUS APPLE (
about 4 oz/115 g), cored and cut into 8 wedges

¼ TSP GRATED FRESH GINGER

1
Combine the broth
, cider, and soy sauce in a liquid measuring cup.

2
In a 10-in/25-cm straight-sided sauté pan
with a lid, heat the olive oil and ½ Tbsp of the butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted and is bubbling, sprinkle the salt over the pan. Arrange the bok choy, cut side down, and the apple wedges in one layer in the pan. Cook, without stirring, until the undersides of the bok choy and the apples are nicely browned, 6 to 7 minutes.

3
With tongs
, gently turn the apple wedges over. Carefully pour the liquid into the pan and cover immediately. Simmer until the liquid is almost completely reduced (1 or 2 tsp will be left), 5 to 6 minutes. Uncover, remove the pan from the heat, and transfer the bok choy and the apples to a serving platter. Add the remaining ½ Tbsp butter and the ginger to the pan and stir well with a silicone spatula as the butter melts, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour the sauce over the bok choy and apples, scraping it out of the pan.

Serves 4

The pan sauce for these carrots has a silky texture and a slightly sweet licorice flavor from the mingling of the fresh tarragon and the blood orange; it works beautifully to smooth out the mineral-y edge of carrots. If you can’t find blood oranges (they’re in season November through March), you can use navel oranges or tangerines for the zest and juice, or you could also replace some or all of the juice with pomegranate or cranberry juice. For a small holiday gathering, these carrots would make a nice addition to a main course of filet mignon and perhaps a potato gratin like the Golden Mushroom and Potato Gratin on
page 198
.