Fast, Fresh & Green (14 page)

5
Remove the herb sprigs
(if used), reduce the heat to low, and add the liquid and butter to the pan. Stir gently, dislodging whatever browned bits are fairly loose, but not going crazy, until the butter has melted and the liquid is reduced, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat, transfer the vegetables to a serving platter, and garnish with the toasted nuts, if desired.

Serves 4 to 5

I like using the walk-away sauté technique for sweet potatoes because they get tender and nicely browned without losing their shape. Apples are a natural match, of course, but since they cook a bit more quickly, I add them later. Handle the apples and the sweet potatoes gently; just by using a heat-proof silicone spatula to stir rather than tongs. As you’re cooking, don’t worry if the pan seems to brown more than the vegetables; that will happen. Just keep stirring and cooking, turning the heat down a bit if necessary, until the sweet potatoes are all tender when pierced with a paring knife.

For pizzazz, I’ve spiked this with plenty of ginger and topped it with crunchy toasted almonds. Try serving this in a warm salad with hearty greens and sliced pork tenderloin.

1 TSP CIDER VINEGAR

2 TSP LOW-SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH

1½ TBSP UNSALTED BUTTER

2 TBSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

1½ MEDIUM SWEET POTATOES,
unpeeled (12 to 13 oz/340 to 370 g), cut into ½-in/1.25-cm dice (about 2¾ cups)

1 SMALL YELLOW ONION
(about 4 oz/115 g), cut into ½-in/1.25-cm dice

1 TSP KOSHER SALT

1 GOLDEN DELICIOUS APPLE
(6 to 7 oz/170 to 200 g), unpeeled, cored and cut into ½-in/1.25-cm dice or pieces

2 TSP FINELY CHOPPED FRESH GINGER

2 TSP CHOPPED FRESH PARSLEY

2 TBSP ROUGHLY CHOPPED TOASTED SLICED ALMONDS
(see tip on
page 36
)

1
Combine the cider vinegar
and broth in a small bowl and set aside.

2
In a 10-in/25-cm straight-sided sauté pan
, melt 1 Tbsp of the butter with 1 Tbsp of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sweet potatoes, onion, and salt. Turn the heat down to medium-low. (The pan should still sizzle; if your stove is less powerful, you can stay on medium and lower the heat later if needed.) Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and lightly browned and the sweet potatoes have turned bright orange and are starting to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. (The bottom of the pan will be lightly browned, and the sweet potatoes will have started to soften.)

3
Add the remaining
1 Tbsp olive oil and the apple. Turn the heat down just a tiny bit more and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the sweet potatoes are tender (test with a paring knife) and the apple and the onion are browned, 8 to 12 minutes.

4
Add the ginger
and stir to incorporate. Remove the pan from the heat, clear a small spot in the pan, and add the vinegar-broth mixture (it will sizzle) and the remaining ½ Tbsp butter. Stir well immediately to incorporate the butter and any browned bits loosened from the bottom of the pan (most will remain). Add the parsley, stir, and transfer to a serving platter or plates. Garnish with the toasted almonds.

Serves 4

When I was developing recipes for this book, I kept testing this one over and over again to get it right. At least that’s what I told myself I was doing. The truth is, I just love these potatoes so much that I’d think of any excuse to make them. You could eat them just as easily for breakfast with eggs as you could for dinner with steak or chicken. If you want to serve these with something more delicate, like a sear-roasted fish fillet, you can leave out the rosemary.

There are two tricks for this version of classic pan-fried potatoes. First, don’t move the potatoes around at all for the first several minutes; you want to let a nice brown crust form. Then, after the potatoes start browning on several sides, keep cooking them until they’re a very dark caramel brown. It may seem scary, but this is the secret to extra-crispy potatoes—just keep going. When I asked friends to cross-test this recipe, the browning time varied a bit with everyone’s stoves and pans. So keep an eye on the color to help determine when the potatoes are done. If you’ve got a cast-iron skillet, use it to make these potatoes. Be sure to cut your potatoes into ½-inch dice.

3 TBSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

1 LB/455 G RED POTATOES,
unpeeled, cut into ½-in/1.25-cm dice or pieces

1 TSP KOSHER SALT,
and more if needed

1 TBSP UNSALTED BUTTER

½ TSP MINCED FRESH GARLIC,
or more if you like

½ TSP CHOPPED FRESH ROSEMARY

COARSE SEA SALT
(optional)

1
In a 10-in/25-cm straight-sided sauté pan
or a seasoned cast-iron skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot (it will loosen and spread out), add the potatoes, immediately spreading them out in one layer. Sprinkle with the 1 tsp kosher salt. Cook, without stirring or moving, until the potatoes have developed a nice crust on the bottom and can be moved, 7 to 9 minutes (check with a thin metal spatula). Flip over all of the potatoes with the spatula and cook for 4 to 5 minutes more without stirring.

2
Continue to cook
, now flipping and scraping more often, until the potatoes are a deep caramel brown color on most sides and feel tender when pierced with the edge of the spatula, 12 to 15 minutes. (If necessary, lower the heat a bit toward the end of cooking.) Turn the heat down to low and add the butter, garlic, and rosemary. Stir until the butter is melted and the garlic is softened, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer to a serving dish and season with more kosher salt or coarse sea salt (if using).

Serves 3

This is definitely the recipe to convert broccoli-bashers, since the method of slow-sautéing yields a crisp floret and lots of caramelized flavor. (If you already like broccoli, you’ll love this.) I could eat this for supper with a bowl of creamy polenta or smashed red potatoes—no big honking protein needed!

Like the other sautés in this chapter, once you get this going, you can tend to other things. However, you will want to check in from time to time, not only to stir but also to see how fast the broccoli is browning. At first, the broccoli will turn bright green, and then it will slowly begin to brown and get tender. The trick is to keep the heat about right so that the browning and tenderizing (for lack of a better word) happen at about the same rate. If the broccoli (or the pan) seems to be browning too quickly, turn the heat down a bit; and if the pan looks very dry, add a little more olive oil. (Remember, it’s good for you.)

¼ CUP/60 ML EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL,
and more if needed

2 OZ/60 G THINLY SLICED PANCETTA
(about 6 slices), each cut into quarters

10 LARGE GARLIC CLOVES,
halved lengthwise

12 TO 14 OZ/340 TO 400 G BROCCOLI FLORETS,
each 2 in/5 cm long with one flat side (6 to 7 cups)

¾ TSP KOSHER SALT,
and more if needed

6 SPRIGS FRESH THYME

1
In a 10-in/25-cm straight-sided sauté pan
, heat the ¼ cup/60 ml olive oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta pieces in one layer and cook until they just start to bubble and shrink, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook, without stirring, until the bottoms are just starting to turn a light golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the broccoli, ¾ tsp salt, and thyme sprigs, and stir well to coat the broccoli.

2
Reduce the heat
to low (or at the lowest end of medium-low) and cook, stirring only occasionally, until the broccoli is browned (the floret end will be darker and crispy) and the garlic is browned and tender, 20 to 25 minutes. (If the pan looks very dry, add a little more olive oil and turn the heat down just a bit.) The broccoli will be cooked through but the stems will still have a somewhat crisp texture. Taste and season with a little more salt, if desired. Remove the pan from the heat, discard the thyme sprigs, and transfer the vegetables to a serving dish or dinner plates.

Serves 4

When I was the editor of
Fine Cooking
magazine, my staff used to kid me that my favorite color was brown. That’s because I always complained at tastings that things (bread crumbs, chickens, roasted vegetables—you name it) were never browned enough. In cooking, complex flavors develop when certain chemical reactions occur, and browning—whether caramelizing or toasting—is one of those great opportunities for flavor development. If you love caramelized onions, you already know this.

It just so happens that the sweet onions and the beans will caramelize in about the same amount of time, so they’re a perfect pair. In fact, this recipe takes so little prep that it’s one of the faster ones in this chapter (about 30 minutes in all). Don’t skimp on the time, though; you want the beans and onions to be really well browned (and tender) for the best flavor. They won’t look pretty, but they will taste delicious.

Everyone will love these, so serve them with something comforting like meat loaf and mashed potatoes or crispy oven-fried chicken. The sage adds subtle flavoring here, so feel free to add more leaves if you like.

8 TO 10 OZ/225 TO 285 G SWEET ONION
(such as Vidalia or Walla Walla; 1 small or ¾ medium)

3 TBSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL,
and more if needed

12 OZ/340 G GREEN BEANS,
trimmed and halved

16 TO 20 MEDIUM FRESH SAGE LEAVES,
plus 4 sprigs for garnish (optional)

¾ TSP KOSHER SALT,
and more if needed

2 TBSP FRESH ORANGE JUICE

1
Cut the onion in half
lengthwise, trim the ends, and peel it. Cut each half lengthwise into ½-in-/1.25-cm-wide slices, angling your knife toward the center of the onion with each cut (a radial cut). Discard any very thin or small pieces of onion. In a 10-in/25-cm straight-sided sauté pan, heat the 3 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, green beans, sage leaves, and ¾ tsp salt. Using tongs, stir and flip the vegetables to coat them well with the olive oil. Reduce the heat to medium-low.

2
Cook, stirring and tossing
the vegetables with tongs only occasionally at first, but more frequently as browning begins, until the vegetables are very well browned and tender, 20 to 24 minutes. The bottom of the pan will be very brown, too. (As you’re stirring, brush the vegetables back and forth over the browned spots on the bottom of the pan—the onion will release juices, which help release the browned bits.) Remove the pan from the heat, add the orange juice, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Taste and season with more salt if necessary. Transfer the vegetables to a serving dish or dinner plates, and garnish with the sage sprigs, if you like.

Serves 4

Yes, I actually put chopped peanuts on this, too. Sorry, you might have to be Southern to understand how this classic trio—ham, molasses, and peanuts—could work so well with something as quirky as turnips. But trust me, even if you live in Manitoba, you will like how well these flavors work with the slightly piney taste of this root vegetable. (And you can always substitute another nut.) This recipe takes 45 minutes to make.

2 TSP MOLASSES

1 TBSP PLUS 1 TSP LOW-SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH

1 LB/455 G SMALL PURPLE-TOPPED TURNIPS,
unpeeled

¼ CUP/60 ML EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

1 MEDIUM RED ONION
(about 7 oz/200 g), cut into ¾-in/2-cm dice

½ TSP KOSHER SALT

3 OZ/85 G THINLY SLICED HONEY HAM,
roughly chopped (about
²
/
₃
cup)

½ TBSP UNSALTED BUTTER

¼ CUP/45 G ROUGHLY CHOPPED UNSALTED PEANUTS

1
Whisk together the molasses
and the broth in a small bowl. Trim the ends off the turnips and set them down on one of the cut sides on a cutting board. If the turnips are taller than 1½ in/3.75 cm, cut them in half crosswise (through the equator). Leave the smaller ones in one piece. Then, as if cutting a pie, cut each turnip or turnip half into 8 to 10 equal wedges. (The wedges shouldn’t be thicker than ¾ in/2 cm at the widest end.)

2
In a 10-in/25-cm straight-sided sauté pan
, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the turnips, onion, and salt. Stir to coat. Cook, stirring only occasionally at first and more frequently as the vegetables begin to brown, until the turnips are nicely browned and mostly tender (the onion will also be browned), 25 to 27 minutes.