Fast, Fresh & Green (2 page)

While my pantry leans toward Mediterranean, it definitely reflects my French culinary training, too. One of the biggest secrets to cooking is “layering” flavors, which means that you season food at different stages of cooking. To do this well, it helps to understand how an ingredient will add a different character, depending on when it is added to the dish. (Think about what garlic does, for instance, at different stages of cooking.)

The French never miss an opportunity to maximize yumminess (that’s Susie—speak, not French). One way they do this is by making a pan sauce—incorporating all the flavors that have developed in a dish in a marvelous finish. To make a pan sauce, you need some flavorful liquids (chicken broth, juice, wine, etc.) to deglaze, or wash off, the delicious browned bits that stick to the bottom of the pan. And then sometimes you need just a very small amount of fat—butter or cream—to finish the sauce and give it body. So you will find these things in my pantry. And when I’m using a technique that doesn’t lend itself to making a pan sauce, I’ll often flavor a dish with some other French-inspired “sauce” like a vinaigrette or a flavored butter (nothing too fancy). That’s when I go to my pantry for things like Dijon mustard, honey, olives, capers, and sun—dried tomatoes.

I like Chinese, Thai, Mexican, and Indian flavors, too, so I keep a minimal pantry of seasonings from these cuisines, things like hoisin sauce and sesame oil, coconut milk and fish sauce, and spices like cumin, coriander, and ground chiles. And in my fridge I keep fresh ginger, which I love for its knock—out flavor and its versatility.

In telling you my flavor influences, I’m simply trying to convey to you that a pantry is a highly personal thing. You should have fun putting yours together. The list I’ve provided is the actual list of pantry ingredients I used in this book—every single one of them, unless I’ve overlooked something. (And I’m sorry to say, if you hate garlic, you are out of luck, because it’s in a lot of recipes!)

Keep in mind that you don’t have to buy everything at once. But there are some items you might not be familiar with, like crunchy pepitas (pumpkin seeds), which you will find you use again and again if you have them around. And, as a general piece of advice, the more you keep on hand, the more the word “quick” comes into play when making vegetable side dishes (no extra trips to the store).

If you are a more experienced cook, you likely have many of these ingredients already, so you should feel free to embellish this list as you please. You may find that once you get the gist of a walk—away sauté, for example, you want to try one with your own flavor combination.

For a moment, however, I’m going to ignore your experience level, and, since I’m not shy, tell you which things on this list I think are not embellishments, but essentials. Aromatic vegetables such as (you guessed it) garlic, shallots, and onions top that list. Fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, and parsley. Lemons and limes, good extra—virgin olive oil, a decent vinegar, and kosher salt might round out the list. But I probably couldn’t live without good Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, either! Oh, and, sorry, cream and butter. (No, that’s not the French influence sneaking in. It’s the cooking of my grandmother Honey, who would make the best succotash out of our fresh Delaware corn and lima beans by adding nothing more than our local dairy’s 43 percent fat—heavy cream and some salt and pepper.) But the fat I use most in this book is extra—virgin olive oil. For cooking, I buy a good grocery—store brand like Berio in bulk containers. I save my favorite Spanish extra—virgin, Nuñez de Prado, for finishing.

I’ve organized this list according to where you’d keep these items, and I hope that’s helpful. Some things start out life in the cupboard and need to migrate to the fridge when they’re opened. Remember, too, that spices lose their oomph after a year or so, so you’ll need to keep an eye on replacing them. (And if you don’t remember how long you’ve had that container of cumin, it’s probably time to throw it out.) Now it’s time to go shopping!

Most of these condiments should be refrigerated after opening. I call exclusively for chicken broth (particularly low—sodium) in this book, because vegetable broths vary quite a bit in quality. Many of them taste like liquid celery, so I hate to recommend them. That said, I have found an occasional good one (I like the organic brand that my grocery store packages). So if you are a vegetarian and have found a broth you like, feel free to use it. Diluting the stronger—tasting ones with water helps, too.

ANCHOVIES

BLACK BEANS,
fermented Chinese

BLACK BEAN SAUCE (
I like Lee Kum Kee brand
)

BROTH, LOW—SODIUM CHICKEN,
in cartons

CAPERS (
preferably salt—packed; rinse before using
)

CHILI—GARLIC SAUCE (
I like Huy Fong brand
)

COCONUT MILK

FISH SAUCE (
I like Tiparos brand
)

HOISIN SAUCE (
I like Lee Kum Kee brand
)

HONEY,
light and dark (preferably local
)

HORSERADISH,
prepared

HOT SAUCE,
a few kinds (I like Tabasco and the Asian hot sauce known as sriracha
)

KETCHUP

MAPLE SYRUP,
pure

MAYONNAISE

MOLASSES

MUSTARD, DIJON

OYSTER SAUCE (
I like Lee Kum Kee brand
)

SOY SAUCE,
low—sodium and regular

SUN—DRIED TOMATOES,
packed in oil

TAPENADE

TOMATO PASTE

VANILLA EXTRACT

WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE

These items do not have to be refrigerated after opening. However, they do keep best tightly covered, either in a zip—top bag or a plastic or glass container.

APRICOTS,
dried

CHERRIES,
dried

CRANBERRIES,
dried

SUGAR, DARK BROWN

SUGAR, GRANULATED

Once you’ve opened the sealed container, can, or jar, nuts keep best (and for the longest amount of time) in the freezer. Their natural oils tend to make them go rancid at room temperature. I find hazelnuts and pine nuts spoil more quickly than the rest, followed by walnuts. In addition to keeping most of my nuts in the freezer, I always keep a cup or two of my favorites, especially pecans and pine nuts, toasted and in a jar in my fridge to use at a moment’s notice.

ALMONDS,
sliced and whole

CASHEWS

HAZELNUTS

PEANUTS

PECANS

PEPITAS (
Mexican pumpkin seeds
)

PINE NUTS (
a.k.a. pignoli
)

SESAME SEEDS

WALNUTS

Store these in a bowl near your work area. Replace them when you see green shoots!

GARLIC

ONIONS,
yellow, red, and
(
in season
)
sweet

SHALLOTS

For cooking, buy extra—virgin olive oil in large quantities (less expensive) and transfer it to a small bottle fitted with a bartender’s speed pour. You can also fit some of your most frequently used vinegar bottles with these handy pouring spouts. Buy them at liquor stores. Keep your bottle of olive oil near your work area. Other oils and vinegars are best stored in a cool, dry cabinet.

OIL, CANOLA

OIL, EXTRA—VIRGIN OLIVE

OIL, PEANUT

OIL, SESAME

OIL, VEGETABLE

VINEGAR, BALSAMIC

VINEGAR, CIDER

VINEGAR, RED—WINE

VINEGAR, SHERRY

VINEGAR, UNSEASONED RICE

VINEGAR, WHITE BALSAMIC

VINEGAR, WHITE—WINE

Chances are, you keep three of these things on hand, anyway. But if you don’t, buy small or minibottles. Remember not to cook with any wine you wouldn’t drink.

RICE WINE

SHERRY, DRY

VODKA

WINE, DRY WHITE

This is a big list. Obviously, you don’t need to keep all of these herbs and cheeses on hand at one time. However, Parmigiano cheese is something that does keep for weeks in the fridge, so I am virtually never without it. I also usually keep fresh thyme and rosemary in my fridge (after the frost comes and I can no longer harvest my plants). These hardy herbs will keep best wrapped in damp paper towels and placed inside zip—top bags. I keep parsley, stems down, in a tall glass of water, leaves covered by a zip—top bag. This cool little greenhouse will keep it fresh for a week.

APPLE CIDER (
in season
)

APPLES

BUTTER, UNSALTED

BLUE CHEESE (
good quality in a hunk, not crumbled
)

CHEDDAR

GRUYÈRE

FETA

GOAT CHEESE,
fresh

MOZZARELLA,
fresh

PARMIGIANO—REGGIANO

SWISS CHEESE

CHILES, FRESH SERRANO

CREAM, HEAVY

EGGS

GINGER,
fresh

HAM,
thinly sliced

HERBS,
fresh
(
basil, cilantro, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme, and lemongrass, which you can slice and keep in the freezer
)

JUICES (
mango, orange, and pomegranate
)

LEMONS

LIMES

OLIVES, PITTED KALAMATA

ORANGES, BLOOD

ORANGES, NAVEL

PESTO

PROSCIUTTO

SALAMI

SCALLIONS

SOUR CREAM

YOGURT, WHOLE PLAIN (
preferably Greek—style
)

To make fresh bread crumbs, pulse ripped—up bread (I like English muffins) in a food processor or a coffee grinder. Store in zip—top bags. Separate bacon and pancetta into smaller portions suitable for one recipe, and store the portions, wrapped in plastic, in one or two zip—top bags.

BACON

BREAD,
sliced artisan

BREAD CRUMBS,
fresh

PANCETTA

In recipes for quick vegetable side dishes, there isn’t a lot of time for spices to release their flavors, so I use them less often than fresh herbs. (Your pantry will most likely contain more spices than this suggested list.) If you’re buying a spice blend, for example curry powder, make sure it’s not one of the brands that has added salt, or your finished dish will wind up too salty.

CARDAMOM,
ground

CINNAMON,
ground

CHILE POWDER, ANCHO

CHILE POWDER, CHIPOTLE

COCOA POWDER,
unsweetened

CORIANDER,
ground

CUMIN,
ground

CURRY POWDER

GINGER,
crystallized

PAPRIKA, SWEET HUNGARIAN

PAPRIKA, SPANISH SMOKED (
a.k.a. pimentón de la Vera
)

PEPPERCORNS, BLACK

RED PEPPER, CRUSHED (
also called flakes
)

SALT, KOSHER

SALT, COARSE SEA (
preferably fleur de sel or Maldon)

Let’s assume that your pantry is stocked up.
Now all you need to do is go vegetable shopping, bring home your loot, and start cooking.

I’m going to offer just a few tips for shopping and storing your vegetables, but go ahead and explore your culinary options. You have a choice—you can decide what side dish to make by choosing one of the nine techniques in the following chapters, or you can utilize the index in the back of the book to choose a recipe according to the vegetable you want to cook. You will find prepping information for each vegetable in the recipes.