So nice, you cook it twice

Yesterday, I wrote about the possibilities that present themselves to you when you walk into the kitchen, and have a supply of tasty ingredients on hand. If you looked at it, you saw how a couple of boneless chicken breasts and some other simple ingredients can turn into a number of different dishes. (Incidentally, I made it with cream sauce and mustard and BOY, was it GOOD. I made enough for four and we probably ate enough for three).

Well, let's extend that idea a little, and now work with vegetables. When vegetables are local, in season, and fresh, my working "m.o" is to do as little as possible. Boil the greens, add some olive oil, and serve them forth, perhaps with a sprinkle of garlic. Steam the broccoli, add some lemon peel, and move on. Well, these days, with many of the vegetables we have in NY coming from far off parts, it is simply not possible to have vegetables of the quality you get "in season."

I was working yesterday with a pound of haricots verts. I bought them because, my on line grocery supplier, has started advising as to what vegetables they have on hand are the best in quality. These had four stars.

Well, ratings are relative, of course. I didn't really think they were that terrific, when I tasted a raw one, but if this is the best that you have, that's what you work with.

When you're confronted with vegetables like this, you need to think a bit "outside of the box." By all means, go ahead and boil them or steam them. But you have to add flavor back to them, that you've lost, given age, travel, handling, whatever. That's where twice cooking comes in.

I first learned this technique from Chinese cooking. It is not at all uncommon in this style of cooking to take something like green beans, and steam them first. Then, you toss them into hot fat. Since they are already tender, there is a magic that happens, as the oil "fries" a soft, wet vegetable. Carmelization happens, and you get a vegetable that isn't quite what you imagine of simple steamed greens, but a complexity of flavor that is caused by those chemical reactions.

I'm going to tell you how to do it with green beans, but you should try this with any FIRM green vegetable, like broccoli, asparagus, squash, and so forth. It's not so useful with leafy greens, but it DOES work.

Boil your vegetables in plenty of salted water, and cook them just short of where you would want them if you were serving them simply boiled. Drain them as well as you can. Then, get a big frying pan - one big enough to hold all of the vegetables in it. Put in a few tablespoons of a good oil - for me, that is almost always olive oil, but you can use what you like.

Before you start heating it up, however, look around at your other flavor components and ask yourself: what would taste good with this vegetable? Sun dried tomatoes? Yes, indeed. Olives? Uh huh. Lemon? Of course (what vegetable does NOT taste good with lemon?). Truffle paste? NOW we're getting fancy. But... my favorite for this type of prep is nuts, and I especially love pistachio nuts. Get about a quarter cup or a third of a cup of them, for a pound of veggies.

Now heat the oil, and add the veggies. They'll begin to sizzle. Here, you have a judgment call: the longer you let them cook like that, the more carmelized they will be, and the "darker" they will taste. I happen to prefer a lighter carmelization to a heavier one, but again, this is your call. You know that carmelization is happening when the sizzle begins to abate. When that happens, stir them and cook the sides that didn't hit the oil and the heat, and toss in your nuts. They will toast up a little at this point. Cook them for just about five more minutes.

This is really almost like jazz music again: I've just given you a theme: firm vegetable, boil and fry, add a flavor component. Now, it's up to you to improvise. My improv was beans with pistachio nuts. You do your own. Or follow mine. But have some fun. It's hard enough to cook with what we got during the winter, so let's enjoy ourselves, and make something really good.