Braising and Slow Cooking
Cooking Skills: Vegetables 2
Chapter 3 · Braising and Slow Cooking
Skill goal
Braise vegetables until silky and sweet, with a glossy glaze rather than a watery sauce.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Braising is cooking food gently in a small amount of liquid with the lid on. It turns tough, fibrous or strongly flavoured vegetables (fennel, red cabbage, leeks, celery, onions) into something silky and sweet. It is slow, but almost all of the time is spent unattended.
How braising works
- Brown first (optional). A few minutes of colour on the cut sides adds flavour: the same browning as in Cooking Skills: Vegetables 1, chapter 5.
- A little liquid: stock, water, tomatoes or juice, coming about halfway up. Too much and you are boiling.
- A tight lid keeps the steam in, so the top half of the vegetables cooks as well.
- Low heat: the liquid should barely tremble. Fast boiling toughens and breaks vegetables up.
- Reduce at the end. Take the lid off for the last 5 to 10 minutes to boil the liquid down to a glaze.
Hob or oven?
| Hob | Oven | |
|---|---|---|
| Heat | Direct from below; easy to check and adjust | Even, all round; needs an ovenproof pan with a lid |
| Typical setting | Lowest ring, lid on | 150 to 160°C (130 to 140°C fan) |
| Best for | Quick braises (fennel, leeks), which you want to watch | Long braises (red cabbage, big batches), which you can forget |
Sweet and sour
Braised vegetables often rely on a balance of sweet (sugar, honey, apple, onion) and sour (vinegar, lemon, tomato). Taste at the end and adjust. The acid also keeps red cabbage red.
Which vegetables?
| Vegetable | Time (low heat) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fennel wedges | 20 to 25 minutes | Keep the root so the layers hold |
| Leeks | 15 to 20 minutes | Wash very well |
| Celery hearts, onions | 30 to 40 minutes | Peel onions; leave a bit of root |
| Red cabbage | 45 to 60 minutes | Needs acid for the colour |
| Carrots, parsnips, beetroot | 25 to 40 minutes | Cut evenly |
| Aubergine (caponata) | 25 to 35 minutes | Fry first so it doesn't go to mush |
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Braised fennel
Fennel turns from crunchy and aniseedy to soft, sweet and mellow. Brown it first, then add liquid and cover.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and cut into wedges
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- 100 ml vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp grated Parmesan-style hard cheese (optional)
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- Trim the stalks and base of the fennel (keep the fronds for garnish) and cut each bulb into 4 wedges through the root so the layers hold.
- Heat the oil in a wide pan with a lid. Brown the fennel wedges for 3 to 4 minutes a side. Add the garlic for 30 seconds.
- Add the stock and lemon juice, bring to a simmer, cover and cook on a low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once, until a knife slips in easily.
- Uncover and boil off any remaining liquid to a glaze. Season, and top with cheese and fennel fronds.
Level 2 · Sweet and sour
Sweet-and-sour red cabbage
Red cabbage turns blue-grey if cooked without acid. The vinegar keeps the colour, and slow cooking turns it sweet and silky. It reheats well.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- ½ small red cabbage, finely shredded
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 apple, grated
- 1 tbsp oil or butter
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar or honey
- 100 ml water
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch ground cloves or cinnamon (optional)
- Soften the onion in the oil for 5 minutes in a large pan with a lid.
- Add the cabbage, apple, vinegar, sugar, water, salt and spices and stir.
- Bring to a simmer, cover and cook on a low heat for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring now and then and adding a splash of water if it dries.
- Uncover for the last 10 minutes to let the liquid reduce. Taste and balance the sweetness and sourness.
Better the next day
Red cabbage tastes even better the next day. Cool quickly, keep it covered in the fridge and eat within 2 days.
Level 2 · Silky
Braised leeks with mustard
Whole leeks braised until silky are a classic side. Handle them gently and wash well, as grit hides between the layers.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 3 leeks, trimmed and washed
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp oil
- 150 ml vegetable stock
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- Cut the leeks into 5 cm lengths. Slit lengthways and rinse thoroughly under running water, fanning out the layers to remove grit.
- Heat the butter and oil in a wide pan. Add the leeks, cut side down, and brown for 3 minutes without moving.
- Add the stock, cover and braise on a low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until very tender.
- Lift out the leeks. Boil the liquid to reduce by half, stir in the mustard, and pour over. Scatter with parsley.
Level 3 · Sicilian
Caponata (sweet-and-sour aubergine stew)
A Sicilian classic, served warm or cold. The aubergines are fried first so they hold their shape, then everything is stewed together.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 2 medium aubergines, in 2 cm cubes
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 celery sticks, diced
- 1 tin 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp capers, rinsed
- 50 g green olives, stoned and halved
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 handful basil leaves
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan and fry the aubergine cubes in two batches for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden and soft. Lift out.
- Add the last tablespoon of oil, and soften the onion and celery for 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Return the aubergine and add the capers, olives, vinegar and sugar. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes, until thick and glossy.
- Taste for balance of sweet, sour and salt (the capers and olives are salty, so go easy on extra salt). Stir in the basil and cool a little before serving.
Keeping
Caponata keeps in the fridge, covered, for up to 2 days. Serve at room temperature, not straight from the fridge.
Experiments
Experiment
Lid on or off
Braising versus simmering.
- Braise two portions of fennel wedges: one with the lid on throughout, one uncovered.
Look for: The covered one is soft and silky; the uncovered one dries out at the top and stays firmer. The lid is what makes it a braise.
Experiment
The braising liquid
Water, stock or juice.
- Braise three small portions of leeks in water, vegetable stock and diluted apple juice.
Look for: Water tastes plain; stock adds savoury depth; juice adds sweetness. Note which suits leeks.
Experiment
Hob or oven
Two ways of cooking the same cabbage.
- Cook half the red cabbage on the hob and half in a covered ovenproof dish at 150°C (130°C fan) for the same time.
Look for: The oven version is more even and needs no stirring; the hob version is easier to check. Compare the texture.
Experiment
Overnight rest
Day one and day two.
- Taste the red cabbage hot on the day you make it. Cool the rest quickly, refrigerate it, and taste it reheated the next day.
Look for: Flavours often blend and mellow overnight. Reheat until steaming hot, once only.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braised fennel | ||||
| Sweet-and-sour red cabbage | ||||
| Braised leeks | ||||
| Caponata | ||||
| Lid on vs off | ||||
| Braising liquid | ||||
| Hob vs oven | ||||
| Day one vs day two |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Tough vegetables | Not cooked long enough, or heat too low | Cover and cook longer; add a splash of liquid |
| Mushy | Too hot or too long | Lower the heat; check earlier |
| Burnt on the bottom | Not enough liquid or heat too high | Add water; lower the heat |
| Blue-grey red cabbage | No acid | Add vinegar or lemon juice |
| Watery sauce | Lid on too long | Uncover and boil down |
| Too sharp | Too much vinegar | Add a pinch of sugar, or some butter |
Hot pans and storage
Steam and boiling water: lift lids away from your face, because the steam is hotter than the water. Use oven gloves for pan handles and steamers, and tip the pan away from you when draining. Don't carry a pan of boiling water across a room with people or pets in it.Knife safety: cut on a stable board (a damp cloth underneath), tuck your guiding fingertips back (the claw), and cut round or slippery vegetables on a flat face so they can't roll. A sharp knife is safer than a blunt one. Never catch a falling knife. Cooking Skills: Knife Skills 1 covers all of this.
Leftovers: cool cooked vegetables quickly (within 1 to 2 hours), keep them covered in the fridge, and eat within 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through, and only once.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can brown vegetables and then braise them with the lid on.
- I use just enough liquid and a low heat.
- I reduce the liquid to a glaze at the end.
- I can balance sweet and sour.
- I can store and reheat braised dishes safely.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Vegetables 2, chapter 4 is Grilling, Charring and Barbecue: direct heat, char and smoke.