It's No Sweat--Learn to "Sweat" Your Vegetables!

Low fat or low sodium cooking requires the cook to get the maximum possible flavor power from the ingredients used.  This past summer, I took a wonderful cooking class at Denver's Cook Street and learned some great tricks for "sweating" vegetables to gain fantastic flavor.

Lots of recipes ask the cook to "saute" vegetables (usually a combination of onions, garlic, celery, and root vegetables) until tender.  In most cases, the recipe is actually asking the cook to "sweat" the vegetables so that they release moisture and become soft and tender.

In cooking class, we started the sweating process with a generous amount of canola oil or butter. To reduce fat and calories, I start by coating my pan with cooking spray and using a modest amount of canola or olive oil (a teaspoon or two).  Heat your pan to medium and dice all of your vegetables so that they are the same size.  Making the vegetables the same size helps them cook evenly.  When the pan and oil has come to temperature, add your vegetables and stir.  You can spray the vegetables with cooking spray, or add a little more oil, if necessary.  Adjust your heat so that the vegetables are cooking gently, but not browning.

In cooking class, our chef taught us this fantastic tip:  take a piece of parchment paper about the size of the circumference of the pan you are using to sweat vegetables and fold it in quarters.  (You don't have any parchment paper?  BUY SOME!  Food Snob went without parchment paper for years until someone gave her some; now she can't cook without it!) Use a scissors or tear the parchment paper so that when you unfold it, you have a circle shape that is just slightly smaller than the circumference of the pot or pan you are using.  Lay the parchment paper on top of the vegetables that you are sweating.  The paper lets just the right amount of steam to escape, but keeps the moisture in.  Below is a photo of onion, celery, and green pepper sweating in my stock pot under a piece of parchment paper.

Sweating vegetables takes about 10 minutes or so, but the fabulous flavor is worth it.  Remove the parchment paper once in a while and stir the mixture so that it cooks evenly.  When the vegetables are soft, you are ready to add other ingredients, including liquids.  Below is a photo of my onion, celery, and green pepper mixture after "sweating."  Notice that none of the vegetables are "brown."

Below is a recipe for a simple, italian-themed vegetable soup that begins with sweating vegetables.  The soup is low in fat and can be ready to eat in about 45 minutes (although it will be better if you simmer it for awhile).  I first had this soup at a potluck about 30 years ago, asked for the recipe, and have made it ever since.  The essential ingredients, other than the herbs and spices, are green peppers (red, orange, or yellow work, too), red wine, onion, garlic, and tomatoes.  Everything else can be adjusted.  I often use this recipe to clean out vegetables from my refrigerator that need to be eaten before spoiling. It's a tasty, healthy soup for cold winter days and it reheats well for lunch the next day or dinner on another night.  It can also be made meatless.

Italian Vegetable Soup with Red Wine

In a large stock pot on medium high heat brown:

1/2 pound reduced fat turkey italian sausage or vegan chorizo, chopped

Break up the sausage with a fork while browning, and when done, dump the sausage into a colander; run hot water over the sausage (this washes off any fat); drain well.  (If using vegan chorizo, you do not need to rinse).  While sausage drains, wipe out the stock pot, coat with cooking spray and add:

1 to 2 teaspoons canola or olive oil

While heating oil, chop to an even dice:

1 yellow onion

3 large stalks celery

1 to 2 green peppers (red, yellow, or orange peppers are fine, too)

Add vegetables to stock pot and "sweat" them under parchment paper, as described above.  Toward the end of the sweating period, add:

3 to 4 cloves minced garlic (a generous Tablespoon)

If you add the garlic earlier, it will brown or burn.  So, add it at the last minute, stir it in, and let it get soft but not brown.  When all of the vegetables are soft and moist, add the turkey italian sausage or vegan chorizo to the vegetable mixture and stir to combine.  Then add:

2 cups red wine 
28 ounces canned or jarred diced tomatoes
2 15-ounce cans white cannellini, garbanzo, or other white bean (reduced sodium)
2 cups beef or vegetable broth (reduced sodium)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon fennel seed (or more, to taste)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 sprig fresh basil, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil)
one large pinch red pepper flakes

Allow mixture to come to boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover.  Simmer about 20 minutes.  If you have a lot of time, let it simmer for a while.  Toward the end of the cooking time, add vegetables of your choice.  I've used:

Frozen italian green beans; or
Fresh zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced in 1/4 inch slices; or
Kale, chopped (add this earlier, it needs to cook for a while); or
Spinach (add this at the very last minute)

Taste and season with:

Kosher salt

Ladle into bowls and feel free to garnish with chopped scallions, fresh parsley, or any other garnish of your choice.  I serve this soup with a good french bread and a dry italian red wine.  Good for body and soul!