How to Saute Vegetables

We all love the delicious sauteed vegetables offered in restaurants. They are colourful, full of flavour, and tender as well. Sauteing is the technique of cooking over a high heat to concentrate the flavour of your food. The high heat evaporates the water inside and caramelizes them just enough to make them taste good outside and tender on the inside. A good saute always uses some kind of fat during cooking. It can either be butter, oil or animal fats. It adds flavour as well.

Tossing should be done only with small vegetable pieces. Larger pieces of potato, eggplant, or zucchini can be sauteed in a single layer until they are brown, and then turned carefully with tongs. If you are using a watery vegetable like tomatoes, you may want to try coating them with flour to help absorb the extra moisture. A good saute pan will have a heavy bottom to allow for even distribution of the heat. Prepare your vegetables well before chopping them up. Wash them thoroughly and pat them dry. Vegetables that work well in a saute include broccoli, bell peppers, onions, green beans, cauliflower, carrots, celery, mushrooms, potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant, etc.

Recipe for Vegetable Saute

What You Need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 4 broccoli florets, chopped
• 1/2 zucchini, chopped
• 1/2 yellow summer squash, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 6 cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chicken stock

Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the olive oil and let it warm. Add the garlic and saute for about half a minute, stirring to prevent burning. Add the rest of the chopped vegetables and let them cook until they just begin to wilt; about 2 minutes. Add your oregano, chicken stock, and soy sauce, stirring well to incorporate them into the mixture. Cook until the vegetables are just tender; about 3 minutes. Do not overcook them. Remove the pan from the heat and serve with whatever sauce is in the pan.