Sauté and steam your veggies in minutes
One of my favourite ways to cook vegetables quickly, even thicker root veggies, is the sauté-steam method.
It’s quick and melds the best of sautéing (a little fat and flavour) and steaming (speedy cooking without bland boiling).
Start by adding a little fat to a sauté pan. Sauté the veggies for a couple of minutes, adding in whatever spices or aromatics you have. You can go simple with shallots or garlic or more complex with curry paste or Chinese five-spice powder.
Add liquid — water, broth, citrus juice — and cover to steam for a few minutes. Once the veggies are crisp-tender from the steam, uncover the pan and allow the liquid to evaporate, leaving the veggies in a tasty and simple glaze. Top with an acid — lime juice, or tangy plain yogurt both work well with a variety of flavours.
Moroccan Spice Carrots with Yogurt Sauce Start to finish: 15 minutes Servings: 4
1 lb baby carrots, peeled and greens removed 1 tsp coconut oil 1/2 tsp mustard seed 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp granulated garlic 3/4 tsp ras el hanout (Moroccan seasoning) 1/4 tsp smoked paprika 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock 1 Tbsp lime juice 1/4 tsp kosher salt Sauce: 1/4 cup plain Greek low-fat yogurt 1 Tbsp lime juice 1/4 tsp smoked paprika 1/4 tsp salt 2 Tbsp toasted chopped walnuts • torn mint leaves for garnish
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Cook the mustard seed in coconut oil until fragrant, about one minute. Add the cumin, ras el hanout, paprika, granulated garlic and stir. Add the carrots and salt and stir to coat carrots with spices, and cook until the spices are deep in colour, stirring, about three minutes.
Deglaze the pan with stock and lime juice. Cover the pan and let steam for three minutes, then uncover and cook until liquid evaporates, another two minutes.
Make the sauce by mixing yogurt, lime juice, smoked paprika and salt in a small bowl. Lay the carrots on a platter and spoon yogurt over the carrots. Top with walnuts and mint leaves.