Sauteing is a quick and simple way to cook produce while keeping lots of flavor and texture.
“Saute” is French for “jumped,” which refers to tossing while cooking.
This cooking method consists of a small amount of fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Because food is being cooked over a high temperature, you’ll need to move the food (or the pan, if you’ve got the muscles) around constantly to prevent them from burning, hence “jumping.”
Remember one of the secrets to good cooking – make sure the oil is hot (starts to shimmer) before adding the ingredients to the pan!
How to Saute Vegetables
Sauteing is a quick way to prepare and cook a wide variety of vegetables.
The microwave is most commonly used to reheat food, but it’s also a great way to cook vegetables.
We like to use the microwave in tandem with sauteing, which makes it really quick and easy to cook vegetables. The microwave helps to par-cook the veggies first, and then sauteing finishes them off.
Let’s say you wanted to make sauteed brussels sprouts, but lone sauteing would mean that the brussels sprouts will either a) not be tender enough when you’re done sauteing, or b) you’ll end up waiting too long for the brussels to cook that your other ingredients will get overcooked. Popping longer-to-cook veggies in the microwave for a couple minutes prevents either of the two scenarios from happening, and it’ll speed up the cooking process.
In other words, don’t underestimate the microwave! It’s much faster than bringing a pot of water to boil, steaming, and roasting. And it can speed up quick cooking methods like stir-frying and sauteing.
Because it’s so fast and simple, you never have to worry about not eating enough veggies. With the help of the microwave, you can enjoy a simple, tasty veggie side dish at every meal. The best part is that vegetables are best enjoyed when prepared simply, so all you need is a bit of seasoning, a bit of lemon juice, and maybe a pat of butter.
See the Microwave & Saute Cooking Method in action here:
The Microwave & Saute Cooking Formula
The microwave can be a great shortcut tool to making sure vegetables make it onto the table for dinner every night.
Jump into sauteing!
Now that you have learned how to saute, practice this cooking technique with some of our favorite recipes.