Soft, pale vegetables sitting in their own water haven't been sautéed, they've been steamed. The difference comes down to three things, all easy to fix.
The three rules
- High heat, and a hot pan before the vegetables go in. Until the water drop test works, then a spoon of neutral oil. In a lukewarm pan, vegetables release their water before they have time to brown.
- No more than one layer. An overfull pan cools all at once and the water stops evaporating. For four people, cook two batches rather than one — which pan size to choose.
- Salt at the end. Salted at the start, vegetables release their water straight away. Salt just before serving.
Cut so they cook together
Pieces of the same size cook at the same pace. Cut into sticks or slices about 1 cm thick, and dry anything you've washed: a wet vegetable won't brown.
The order they go in
Vegetables don't all cook at the same speed. Start with the hardest and add the others as you go.
| When | Vegetables |
|---|---|
| First (6 to 8 min) | Carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, onion |
| Next (4 to 5 min) | Pepper, courgette, green beans, fennel |
| Last (1 to 2 min) | Spinach, snow peas, garlic, herbs |
Times are a guide, for pieces about 1 cm thick: taste, they should keep a slight crunch. Two vegetables are exceptions with their own method: mushrooms, which release a lot of water — golden mushrooms, not grey — and aubergines, which drink the oil — pan-fried aubergine.
The cook
- Put in the hard vegetables and leave them 1 to 2 minutes untouched, so they take on colour.
- Toss: stir or shake the pan about every 30 seconds.
- Add the next ones following the table, then garlic and herbs last: garlic burns fast on high heat.
- Off the heat: salt, pepper, a squeeze of lemon or a dash of soy sauce.
The finish, in 30 seconds
There are often brown bits left in the pan. A spoon of soy sauce and one of honey, or a splash of balsamic vinegar with a little water, and toss the vegetables to coat — deglazing: a sauce in 30 seconds. The sauce chart gives pairings for vegetables and tofu.
The three mistakes
Too many vegetables at once. They boil in their own water instead of browning.
Salt at the start. It draws the water out before the pan can evaporate it.
Everything at the same time. The courgettes are mush while the carrots are still raw.
What to serve them with
A chicken breast, crispy tofu, shrimp, gnocchi, or rice for a full meal. Cook the protein first, set it aside, then the vegetables in the same pan: they pick up the brown bits.
High heat is what a stainless pan handles without flinching. The pan we film with is 304 stainless with no coating, with the 25-recipe book free.
