Green Bean (or Any Other Vegetable) Salad

Green-beans (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is such a simple recipe, you will probably memorize it after making it once or twice. But I have found myself making it a lot lately, now that fresh vegetables are in season and abundant. A simple preparation highlights the deliciousness of really fresh green beans, and it goes with everything. This salad tastes good warm or after sitting in the fridge for a day or two. It serves four.

Trim the ends off ½ pound green beans, and snap them in half if the beans are long. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and boil just until tender. Drain and spread out on a plate to cool. Meanwhile, whisk together 1 small minced shallot, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss the dressing gently with the green beans. Garnish with basil or parsley.

Of course, you could make this salad more hearty by adding another vegetable to it. Boiled new potatoes, roasted red peppers or cherry tomatoes are all traditionally tasty accompaniments to green beans.

This formula will work with almost any green vegetable, so if you don’t have green beans, don’t let that stop you. Try this with broccoli, spinach, kale or whatever you have to hand. Summer is such a wonderful time for eating your vegetables.

Eggs Baked in Tomato Sauce with Green Beans

Eggs baked in tomato sauce with green beans is exactly what it says. Oh yeah, there is some cheese in there too. This is from a recipe I got out of The Good Egg. My husband thought it was good; I thought it was weird but certainly edible. Granted, I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, and I employed it mostly to use up odds and ends from the fridge, but it was still weird. Probably will not make again.

Green Beans with Bacon and Sage

Image via Wikipedia

This is a super-simple side that is also delicious. Try it alongside any Italian-style dish. I enjoyed it with mushroom-stuffed ravioli in a simple tomato sauce. To be really authentic, you could substitute pancetta for the bacon, of course, but sometimes we must make do with what we have on hand. Still, as they say, bacon makes everything taste better.

Green Beans with Bacon and Sage

Time to make: ~15 minutes
Yields: 2 servings (doubles easily)

• ½ lb. green beans, trimmed
• 1 slice bacon
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• pepper to taste
• handful fresh sage leaves, sliced thinly

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. (If you are making pasta as well, you can make double use of the water.) Boil the green beans 4-6 minutes, until they are tender-crisp. Drain.

Meanwhile, fry the bacon over medium-high until crispy. Let drain on paper towels. These two steps may done ahead of time. Continue with the recipe just before serving.

Heat the olive oil over medium. Add the green beans and crumble the bacon over. Toss to coat with the oil. Season with pepper and mix in the sage. Continue tossing over the heat until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Serve.

Glazing Vegetables

Glazing vegetables is an extremely useful technique for punching up an otherwise boring vegetable side dish. I used to avoid recipes that used this technique, because I associated glazed vegetables — specifically, carrots — with a sugary, syrupy sweet dish. If I wanted to eat dessert, I’d have ice cream.

But I was wrong. The traditional method for glazing requires very little or no sugar. The technique relies on reducing a flavorful cooking liquid, such as chicken stock, to a glaze and thickening it with butter. While this technique works very nicely on carrots, many other vegetables can also benefit from it, such as brussels sprouts, pearl onions, sweet potatoes, turnips and winter squash. The other night, I made some delicious green beans also using this technique. So I encourage experimentation.

Here is how you do it:

1. Prepare the vegetable by slicing or cutting into bite-sized pieces, if necessary.
2. In a large skillet, add the vegetable, a pat of butter (about 1 tbsp.), salt and just enough good (preferably homemade) chicken stock to halfway cover.
3. Bring the liquid to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer the vegetables until tender, adding a little more liquid if necessary.
5. When the vegetables are done, raise the heat to medium-high and add 1-2 tbsp. butter. If desired, stir in 1-2 tbsp. sugar.
6. Stir until the liquid reduces to a glaze coating the vegetables; there should be very little liquid left, and the glaze should be thickened and browned.
7. Remove from the heat and stir in a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice to finish.

Simmering: A Technique for Cooking Flavorful Vegetables

There are probably two main ways we all learned how to cook vegetables with liquid: boiling and steaming. But both of these techniques have disadvantages. Boiling vegetables in a lot of water often yields overcooked, mushy results that many of us remember (and hate) from our childhoods. And steaming all too often lets the flavor and moisture escape into the air rather than keeping it in the vegetables.

Lately, I have been simmering vegetables in an attempt to retain moisture and flavor without cooking the vegetables to death, and I’ve loved the results. Simmering is a hybrid of boiling and steaming that takes advantage of the best aspects of both.

Simmering involves cooking vegetables in a smaller amount of liquid than boiling them, and at a lower temperature, enough to keep a gentle simmer going. The pot is covered, trapping the steam and cooking the vegetables in less time so that their vibrant colors are retained.

Liquids other than water can be used to add more flavor. My favorites have been chicken stock, apple cider and orange juice. Flavorings can also be added to the liquid, such as soy sauce, herbs or garlic. Once the vegetables are cooked, if you like, raise the heat, uncover the pan and reduce the cooking liquid to a sauce to retain every bit of flavor.

Here are the basic steps for simmering vegetables:

1. Cut the vegetables into smallish pieces, if necessary, such as cubes.
2. Add the vegetables to the pot with enough liquid just to cover them halfway.
3. Add a pat of butter or a small amount of olive oil, salt and other seasonings as desired.
4. Bring the liquid to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and simmer until the vegetables are just tender (see below for suggested cooking times).
6. If desired, uncover the pot, raise the heat and let the liquid reduce for a sauce.
7. Serve as is or with the cooking liquid, or toss with a vinaigrette, flavored butter or a little lemon juice and fresh herbs.

Not all vegetables lend themselves to this cooking method, but many do. Here are some of my favorites:

• Simmer less than 5 minutes: asparagus, bok choy, corn (off the cob), green beans
• Simmer 5-10 minutes: artichoke hearts, broccoli florets, brussels sprouts, carrots (baby or cut into rounds)
• Simmer 10-15 minutes: cabbage, summer squash, baby zucchini
• Simmer 15-30 minutes: new potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, winter squash

Eat Your Vegetables! Prepping, Blanching and Revitalizing Vegetables

colors in the market, originally uploaded by Zé Eduardo
Sometimes it seems like a lot of work to sneak in those 5 servings of vegetables per day. When I’m trying to throw together a quick weeknight supper, I often don’t want to spend time making side dishes. And I’m not going to eat fresh vegetables for lunch or a snack unless they’re convenient too — I just don’t have the time.

It pays to take a little extra time when I have it, especially when I’m weekend cooking, to prep vegetables so that they’re ready to go during the week. I can quickly turn prepped vegetables into a salad or side dish or add them to a pasta sauce or soup without too much trouble.

Whenever I have the extra time, I always wash, trim, peel (if necessary) and cut up more vegetables than I need for the recipe I’m preparing. Prepped vegetables keep well in the refrigerator wrapped in damp paper towels and stored in a plastic bag. Peeled potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots can be stored in water, as can pre-snapped green beans. For longer term storage, many vegetables can be blanched briefly and then frozen; just remember to adjust the final cooking time accordingly.

To blanch vegetables, bring several quarts of water to a boil over high heat and season liberally with salt. Boil the vegetable until the color brightens and the vegetable is crisp-tender. This doesn’t take very long — no more than 30 seconds to 1 minute for tender vegetables, up to 5-6 minutes for sturdier vegetables. Save time by blanching several vegetables in the same pot — just cook them one at a time.

All of the following vegetables benefit from blanching:

• artichoke hearts
• asparagus
• bean sprouts
• broccoli florets and trimmed stems
• cabbage leaves
• carrots
• cauliflower florets
• fava beans
• green beans
• new potatoes
• snow and sugar snap peas

Remove the blanched vegetables from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and plunge them immediately into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Let cool for 1 minute, then pat dry with paper towels. They can then be refrigerated or frozen for later use. Blanched vegetables also make great crudites for dipping.

Even if you will be eating cooked vegetables the same day, it is better to let them cool and then revitalize them just before serving than to try to keep them warm and risk overcooking them. The French method of revitalizing blanched, frozen and leftover vegetables is my favorite.

If the vegetables are left over from a previous meal, first rinse them of any flavorings. Heat ½ tablespoon of olive oil or butter over medium per serving. Add the vegetables and stir until warmed through. Season and serve.

Steamed Vegetables with Sesame Dressing

This Asian-influenced sesame dressing is a light accompaniment for pretty much any vegetable that can be steamed: asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, green beans, snow peas or sugar snap peas. (If you substitute another longer cooking vegetable, remember to adjust the steaming time accordingly.) Serve this as a light starter before a heartier soup or stew. Serves 4.

1. Prepare 2 cups of the vegetable by trimming and/or cutting into equally sized pieces
2. Place a steamer basket over about ½ inch of water in a large, shallow pan and bring to a boil
3. Reduce to a gentle simmer, place the vegetables in the basket and cover
4. Steam until tender and bright green, 4-7 minutes

Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by mixing together:

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. honey
• 2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Pour the dressing over the steamed vegetables and serve.

How to Make the Perfect Stir-Fry

The secrets to a successful stir-fry are organization and preparation, which are also the keys to accomplishing pretty much any complex task. Cooking is a small mirror held up to life (profound, huh?). If you can pull off a good stir-fry, you can probably successfully manage three complex software development projects with deliverables expected in late December, or the equivalent. We’ll see.

Before you even start cooking, you’ll want to get yourself and all of your ingredients organized. When the cooking starts, it goes fast, so you’ll need to have everything ready and at hand. The first thing I do is cook the starch, either rice or noodles, such as Chinese ramen-style noodles or angel hair pasta. The rice will steam and then stay warm while I’m preparing the stir-fry. The noodles will be done fast and then can sit in their pot until I’m ready to mix them in and reheat them.

Second, prepare the protein. I usually use boneless chicken breast for this dish, but turkey, pork, shrimp, scallops, fish or tofu should also work just fine. For 2 people, I use about ¼ pound of protein. Remember, traditional stir-fries are skimpy on the meat and generous with the vegetables. Cube the meat and let sit in a mixture of 1 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. sherry and ¼ cup water while you prepare the vegetables.

Choose 2-3 vegetables for the dish, enough to make ½ pound. Keeping it simple keeps both you and the stir-fry from getting overwhelmed. Dice or slice each vegetable into as nearly uniform pieces as you can make them. Arrange the cut vegetables in bowls in order of their cooking time, with the longest cooking vegetables first:

1. Mushrooms: 5-10 minutes, depending on type and thickness
2. Cabbage, spinach, other greens: 4-6 minutes
3. Asparagus, broccoli, carrots, green beans: 3-5 minutes
4. Peppers, snow peas, sugar snap peas, summer squash, zucchini: 2-3 minutes
5. Bean sprouts: less than 1 minute

These are just suggestions. You may want to try other vegetables.

In addition, mince 2 garlic cloves and ½ tbsp. ginger root, and place them in line behind all the vegetables.

Next, prepare the sauce. My base stir-fry sauce is a mixture of ¼ cup chicken stock, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. cornstarch and 1 tbsp. flavoring, such as a bottled Asian sauce, sake or rice wine, or fermented black beans soaked in sherry. Feel free to experiment. I give a suggested variation at the end of this post.

Finally, get your garnishes together. Chopped nuts, sliced scallions, raw bean sprouts and minced fresh herbs all make good garnishes.

The last step is to prepare a coating for the protein for cooking it. Drain away the marinade and toss the chicken (or whatever you’re using) in a mixture of ½ tbsp. sesame oil, 1 tsp. cornstarch and 1 tsp. flour.

Now you’re ready to assemble the stir-fry:

1. Heat 1 tbsp. peanut oil in a nonstick skillet over high until shimmering
2. Add the protein in a single layer and cook without disturbing until browned
3. Flip each piece and brown the other side in the same manner
4. Remove the cooked protein to a plate
5. If needed, add another ½ tbsp. peanut oil to the pan
6. Add the vegetables in order of their cooking times and stir-fry, keeping the food moving constantly, until tender
7. Add the garlic and ginger, and stir-fry 30 seconds
8. Reduce the heat to medium
9. Return to the protein to the pan and mix in the sauce
10. Stir-fry until the sauce thickens
11. If using noodles, stir them in and heat through
12. Remove from heat, garnish and serve

Sweet Chili-Garlic Stir-Fry Sauce

Serves: 2

Mix together:

• ¼ cup chicken stock
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. honey
• ½ tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1-2 tsp. chili sauce, depending on taste
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. cornstarch