When it comes to cooking vegetables, you can boil, steam, sauté, or grill them. But have you ever braised them? It’s a hearty and comforting way to enjoy healthy foods.

A simple technique that slowly locks in flavor and juiciness, braising is typically used for meat. But it’s wonderful for vegetables too.

The Best Vegetables to Braise

Braising adds complexity to vegetables: they become more tender and satisfying than with other preparation methods.

The best ones for braising are sturdy:

• onions
• carrots
• potatoes
• turnips
• winter squash
• cabbage
• fennel
• parsnips
• rutabagas
• Brussels sprouts
• leeks
• cauliflower

Popular Braising Liquids

• water
• broth:
  • vegetable
  • chicken
• cider
• wine
• beer
• fruit juice
• coconut milk
• canned tomatoes

How to Braise Vegetables

1. Ready the Pot

   In a large Dutch oven or cast iron pot with a tight-fitting lid, heat some oil or butter.

2. Add the Veggies

   Add chopped vegetables of your choice. Don’t crowd the pot with the veggies, or they’ll steam instead of sear.

3. Start Cooking

   Begin to sauté the vegetables over medium heat. A little bit of browning is fine. Just be sure they don’t cook all the way through.

4. Add Seasoning and Liquid

   Add desired seasonings (dried spices and herbs, garlic) and a braising liquid (use one or a combination of the above).

   How Much Liquid Should I Use?

   The measurement can vary, but typically the braising liquid reaches a third to halfway up the sides of the vegetables in the pot. This amount infuses the veggies with flavor and helps tenderize them.

5. Finish Cooking

   Braises can be finished in the oven instead of the stovetop.

   • On The Stovetop

     Reduce the heat to low, and cover the pan with a lid. Continue simmering over low heat until the vegetables are tender.

     This takes anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the vegetable type.

     Make sure the liquid in the pot stays at a simmer and does not boil. Add more liquid if the vegetables appear to be drying out.

   • In The Oven

     The benefit of this technique is that you don’t have to worry about the liquid evaporating as much as it does over the burner. The downside? It takes longer.

     For the oven method, place the sautéed vegetables in a 325° oven. It’s fine to keep them in the pot they were sautéed in, as long as it’s ovenproof. Cover the pot tightly with an ovenproof lid or some foil.

     Bake until the vegetable chunks are tender and can be pierced with a fork. This takes from 20 minutes to two or more hours, depending on the vegetable variety and the size it was cut.

6. Add Flavor and Texture

   Finish the braise by stirring in a splash of mustard, citrus juice, vinegar, or olive oil.

   A sprinkle of nuts, breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, or citrus zest adds lots of flavor too.

7. Use The Juices

   Whether you finish braising on the stovetop or in the oven, don’t let those flavorful juices go to waste!

   1. Remove the braised vegetables from the pot with a slotted spoon and set them aside.

   2. Place the pot with the braising liquid over medium heat. Simmer, reducing the liquid by half.

   3. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Spoon the reduced juices over the reserved vegetables.

   4. Garnish and Serve

      As a final garnish, consider fresh chopped:

      • thyme
      • sage
      • rosemary
      • oregano
      • parsley

   More Braising Tips

   • Preparation

     • Peel, trim, and cut the veggies into larger-sized chunks for a rustic feel and to prevent overcooking. Make sure all the pieces are uniform in size, so they’ll cook evenly.
     • If the braised dish contains a mixture of vegetables, be sure the tougher varieties are chopped smaller than the more tender ones.

   • Cooking

     • Pressure cookers and slow cookers can be used for braising. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for cooking times.

   • Serving

     • Braised vegetables typically taste better the next day, when flavors and textures have time to improve.
     • Delicious when warm, braised vegetables can be equally good served chilled or at room temperature in salads or sandwiches.

   • Storage

     • Store braised vegetables in the refrigerator up to three days. Reheat gently.
     • Freeze braised veggies for up to three months.

When the 20th-century cartoon character Popeye sang that line about the vegetable that gave him strength, kids everywhere sang along. And parents secretly thanked him for praising spinach, a veggie powerhouse.

Spinach's Long History

Long before Popeye came along, though, more than 2,000 years ago, people in southwest Asia cultivated this leafy relative of beets and Swiss chard.

It arrived in North America in Colonial times.

Health Benefits of Spinach

While spinach is low in calories (about 7 calories per cup), it’s loaded with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.

• Vitamins and Minerals

  A cup of spinach delivers 105 percent of the daily value (DV) of vitamin A and the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin K.

  It’s also rich in vitamin C, folate, iron, and calcium.

• Lutein

  Spinach is also an excellent source of lutein, an antioxidant that protects against certain age-related eye diseases.

• As a Functional Food

  Indeed, leafy green vegetables have “substantial health-promoting activities that are attributed to the functional properties of their nutrients and non-essential chemical compounds,” according to a study in Food & Function.

  The authors wrote that spinach “is widely regarded as a functional food due to its diverse nutritional composition, which includes vitamins and minerals, and to its phytochemicals and bioactives that promote health beyond basic nutrition.”

  Other Compounds

  A 2019 literature survey in Mini Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry noted that some 100 chemical compounds have been isolated from spinach; its components include carotenoids, flavonols, and glucuronides.

  “Potential pharmacological properties of these isolated compounds” include anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-obesity, among others.

• For Satiety

  One of spinach’s compounds—thylakoids—induces the secretion of satiety hormones, which can help people feel full.

Raw or Cooked?

A fresh spinach salad is a tasty way to take advantage of spinach’s fiber and other nutrients. But if you want to increase the bioavailability of its iron and calcium content, cook it!

Heat breaks down spinach’s oxalic acid, which interferes with the absorption of the minerals.

How to Select and Store Spinach

Avoid spinach that has yellow, wilted, or bruised leaves. Opt instead for leaves that are a healthy-looking green.

Once you get it home, wash, dry, and refrigerate spinach, and store it in the crisper—with paper towels in the container to absorb moisture. It should last for a week.

What Kind of Plant is Zucchini?

Zucchini is a type of summer squash native to the Americas, but loved the world over.

Is Zucchini a Fruit or a Vegetable?

A member of the gourd family, zucchini is technically a fruit.

However, it is prepared most often as a vegetable.

Can You Eat Zucchini Flowers?

The blossoms of zucchini squash are both edible and nutritious, and make a tasty edition to fruit salads, soups, and more.

They should be picked the same day they are used.

Why is Zucchini Good For You?

• Low in Calories

  Zucchini is composed almost entirely of water—more than 95 percent—which means it is very low in calories.

• High in Nutrients

  Despite its modest calorie count, zucchini boasts a good amount of basic nutrients:

  • vitamin C
  • fiber
  • magnesium
  • potassium

• Helps Support Vision

  It's a great source of carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin), which are known to protect against cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.