Secrets of Cooking Vegetables: Bright Colour, Lively Texture

Most people who claim to dislike vegetables actually dislike badly cooked vegetables: grey green beans, mushy broccoli, mushrooms that steamed in their own liquid. Cooked the right way, vegetables are vibrant, sweet and satisfying. In this lesson we cover four basic methods and the jewel of Turkish cooking, the zeytinyağlı method.

Blanching and shocking

Blanching means cooking vegetables briefly in plenty of boiling, salted water and then plunging them straight into iced water. It sets the colour, keeps the texture lively and gets vegetables ready for salads, sautés or the freezer.

1. Bring a big pot of water to the boil and salt it generously.
2. Set a bowl of iced water next to it.
3. Drop in the vegetables. Leave the lid off; green vegetables dull faster under a lid.
4. Timing: green beans 3-4 minutes, broccoli florets 2-3 minutes, peas 1-2 minutes, spinach 20-30 seconds.
5. Drain immediately into the iced water, then drain again and pat dry once cool.

The result: bright green, slightly crisp vegetables. Toss them in butter for a few minutes when you are ready to serve.

Roasting: bringing out the sweetness

High heat caramelises the sugars in vegetables and gives a depth of flavour you will never get from boiling.

• Heat the oven to 200-220 °C.
• Cut everything to a similar size so it cooks evenly.
• Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper; every piece should have a thin coat.
• Spread in a single layer. Overlapping vegetables steam instead of browning. Use two trays if you need to.
• Stir once halfway.
• Timing: courgettes and peppers 20-25 minutes, cauliflower and broccoli 25-30 minutes, potatoes and carrots 35-45 minutes.

Browned edges and tender centres mean they are done.

Sautéing: fast and hot

Sautéing is cooking vegetables in a wide pan with a little fat over high heat, keeping them moving.

• Heat the pan first, then add the oil.
• Add firm vegetables (carrot, peppers) first and softer ones (courgette, mushrooms) later.
• Salt mushrooms at the end; early salt draws out water and they stew instead of browning.
• Do not overload the pan; cook in two batches if needed.

Keeping colour and texture

• Greens and acid: Lemon juice or vinegar slowly turns green vegetables olive-drab. Add acid just before serving.
• Red cabbage and beetroot: These love acid; a splash of vinegar or lemon keeps them vivid.
• Do not overcook: Broccoli, beans and asparagus should keep a little bite. A fork should slide in, but the vegetable should hold its shape.
• Aubergine bitterness: Modern aubergines are rarely bitter, but salting slices for 20-30 minutes helps them soak up less oil when frying. Pat them dry well afterwards.
• Against browning: Keep artichokes and potatoes, which darken once cut, in lemony water.

The zeytinyağlı method

Turkish olive oil dishes are some of the most elegant in the cuisine, and they follow their own logic: vegetables are softened slowly in olive oil with their own juices and a little water, then served cold or at room temperature.

1. Soften the onion thoroughly. Plenty of olive oil, medium-low heat, until translucent without colour.
2. Add the vegetable and coat it in the oil. Green beans, artichokes, leeks or celeriac: give them a few minutes with the oil.
3. Add tomato, salt and a pinch of sugar. The sugar balances the acidity of the tomato and vegetables; it is not there to sweeten.
4. Add a little water. It should come only halfway up; the vegetables will release their own juices.
5. Cover and cook on low heat. Until the vegetables are soft and the oil rises to the surface; usually 40-50 minutes for green beans.
6. Let it cool in the pot. Zeytinyağlı dishes come into their own as they cool, not when hot.

Do not be shy with the oil; these dishes are named after it for a reason. Good extra virgin olive oil is half the flavour.

In short

• For green colour: short time, lid off, iced water.
• For sweetness: a hot oven and a single layer.
• For speed: a hot pan, little oil, no crowding.
• For depth: olive oil, patience and low heat.

Try one vegetable a different way every day for a week; you will be surprised that the same courgette can become three completely different dishes.