On Boiling Vegetables: Tips from Samin Nosrat

Just this week, I picked up a new cookbook. It’s a true cookbook by Samin Nosrat, who wrote the cooking textbook Salt Fat Acid Heat. Which book, I may say, taught me more about cooking, in a very short time, than I had picked up in a couple years of practice. I learned all kinds of tips and tricks for making food delicious, and for thinking like a chef – for being able to identify what would improve a dish from “okay” to “that’s excellent!”

The new cookbook is called Good Things. It has a chapter focused solely on fresh, seasonal produce, and in the chapter, Ms. Nosrat gives general advice for how to get the best results by boiling¸ roasting, and sauteing any vegetable. I’ll give a sample of her advice about boiling.

“Trust me – just boil it in generously salted water until it’s barely tender.”

She gives more detail about that advice.

“I’ve cooked nearly every vegetable that’s entered my kitchen this way. Kids and adults alike gobble up salty boiled potatoes dressed with melted ghee. Sometimes, a pile of boiled broccolini topped with toasted sesame oil constitutes my entire dinner – a deeply satisfying one, too. I don’t know of a better way to cook baby turnips and their greens than to boil them separately, reunite them on the plate, and drizzle them with good olive oil. English peas, whether fresh or frozen, take mere moments to cook in a salted, roiling bath. Toss them immediately upon their emergence from the pot with the fat of your choice – I like salted cultured butter or a fruity olive oil."

Now, I can confirm all of this. Her advice to generously salt the water I boil produce in has converted the eating of boiled vegetables from a necessity (when I couldn’t think of any other way to cook them) into a pleasure. It’s my go-to for all kinds of things – boil in generously salted water, top with butter and some extra salt. It’s like delicious French fries, except from all kinds of vegetables.

Really, this advice is worth the $45 I spent on this cookbook. The value of the meals I make is heightened constantly after reading her other book, Salt Fat Acid Heat. It’s like getting “the right tool for the job.” You can try to screw something in with the wrong size screwdriver, but you’ll wear out your arm, maybe strip the screw, and waste a lot of time and energy. Just spend a few bucks and get the right tool. It’s an important life lesson. And getting some excellent cooking advice, if you expect to do much cooking – it’s just worth spending some money and time on.

I can’t give you all the tips, though I am buying a few copies of these cookbooks, to sell to you, maybe with a poem and my signature. (Ha!) But I will give you the rest of Samin Nosrat’s tips for boiling. You’ll have to watch this space or buy the book to get her tips for the other cooking methods.

“FOR THE BEST RESULTS, REMEMBER:”

 If it tastes good raw, it’ll taste better cooked.

 Use a larger pot than you think you need so that the water can return to a boil as quickly as possible.

 Add vegetables to generously salted water at a rowdy boil—except for potatoes, which should start in cold water and cook at a gentle simmer.

 Cut produce into similar-size pieces so it all cooks evenly.

 If cooking more than one kind of vegetable, boil each type separately to ensure they all cook properly. You can use the same pot of water, but save anything bitter or sulfurous – that means broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, or their kin – for last to prevent passing unwanted flavors onto milder vegetables.

 Cook produce until it’s barely tender and account for a little more cooking once its out of the water. Have a colander ready in the sink, or use a spider strainer to pluck vegetables from the pot as soon as they’re done. If they’re not headed straight for the table, spread them out in a single layer to prevent them from overcooking as they cool.

 To prevent the shriveling that tends to occur as boiled vegetable cool, toss them with a little bit of oil as soon as they’re drained.

 And finally, taste your vegetables while they’re in the water and after they emerge. You can always add salt to the pot while they’re still cooking to ensure they’re properly seasoned from within. Once they’re on the platter, add a sprinkling of flaky salt and a squeeze of lemon if you like.

VEGETABLES TO BOIL

Artichokes

Asparagus

Broccoli and broccolini

Broccoli rabe

Cabbage

Carrots

Cauliflower and Romanesco

Chard

Corn

Fava beans

Fennel

Hardy greens

Parsnips

Peas

Potatoes

Snap and snow peas

Spinach

String beans

Summer squash

Sweet potatoes

Turnips and their greens