Blanching Vegetables-What's That?

I like to always have some fresh cooked vegetables on hand to go along with my lunch or dinner. Usually I have some broccoli or asparagus, sometimes green beans or baby bok choy. If I don't eat them as a side dish, I can usually find a way to incorporate them into another new dish.

Blanching is an important and useful technique to know because it will help keep that green veggie you don't know what to do with from going bad so quickly, make it more eye appealing, and make it much tastier than if you were to eat it raw.

Get a large pot of water going, usually 3-4 quarts, more if you are blanching a large quantity of something. Add enough salt so that you can taste it in the water-not quite as salty as ocean water but you should be able to taste it. Before you add anything, the water should be at a rolling boil.

While your water is heating up, cut your broccoli into equal size pieces, large or small as you like, trim the ends from your asparagus or green beans, or make a cross shaped cut in the bottom of your bok choy.

Add your vegetables to the water and you will see they turn a beatiful bright green. That is the salt doing its job. Broccoli usually takes about 3-4 minutes after the water returns to a full boil; it should just be "fork tender"-you should be able to cut it with a fork with a little pressure-when it's ready. Asparagus is the same. Green beans usually take around 8-10 minutes; they shouldn't squeak in your teeth when you bite them. Bok choy will not become fork tender as it's a little more fibrous and you'll need to saute it anyway before you serve it, but it should become noticeably softer. Just don't cook it until it's completely limp.

Once your vegetable is done, pull it out quickly and if you don't plan to eat it right away, either run cold water over it, or better yet put it in ice water. In restaurant speak, this is called "shocking" it. It should be completely submerged in water and a good amount of ice until it is cold all the way through. This will stop the cooking process. Then you can easily store your fresh veggie away 3-4 days. All you have to do is pop it in the microwave a minute or two, top it with a little salt and pepper and butter if you like, and it's ready to go.