How to Sauté Vegetables the Quick and Easy Way

I've roasted vegetables all winter long—big ones, long ones, short ones, skinny ones. Every last vegetable. Roasted brussels sprouts doused in funky fish sauce? Check. Multi-colored rainbow carrots with a sweet honey glaze? A dozen times yes. Even the alien-looking wonder root vegetable known as kohlrabi, tossed with Parmesan and hazelnuts, is in regular rotation.

But as temperatures warm, I've reached a decision: It's time to stop the roasting already. Now, given that roasted vegetables are showing up in everything from grain bowls to burritos, I know this is a controversial statement—but I just can't anymore with the roasting.

With nearly two months until the start of grilling season, I'm turning to the easiest no-oven solution to cook all of my vegetables: the quick sauté.

How to sauté vegetables:

It's the easiest way to get vegetables on the table fast without heating up the oven or bringing a stockpot of water to a boil. Here are the steps.

1. Choose your vegetable

What do you have in your fridge right now? Shiitake mushrooms? Swiss chard? Spinach? Asparagus? Clean it, and cut it up into bite-size pieces.

2. Prep your pan

Add a glug of olive oil to a skillet set over medium-high heat and wait until the oil starts to shimmer. Or, for even more flavor, sauté chopped bacon and use the rendered bacon fat to cook your vegetables—have schmaltz leftover from cooking chicken? That works too.

3. Warm some aromatics

Remove bacon from the pan, if using, and let it drain on a paper towel. Meanwhile, toss a chopped shallot, small onion, or a well-cleaned, sliced leek into the hot pan and cook for about a minute before adding a minced garlic clove. Cook until the onion, etc. is translucent—you'll know you've made it when your kitchen smells great. If you feel like your onion is cooking too quickly, add a few tablespoons of water to the pan to stop the cooking. Let the water evaporate before continuing on.

4. Sauté your vegetable

Add your chopped vegetables to the pan and dust with a hefty pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring and shaking the pan every once in awhile, until the vegetables are tender and have taken on some color—a little charring from the pan is fine. You'll have quick-sautéed, golden brown mushrooms in about 5 minutes and silky Swiss chard in about 7. There's no need to adhere to strict cooking times though—as soon as your veg starts to look done, pluck out a piece (with a fork or spoon, please) and taste it. Still too crunchy? Give it another minute and try again.

If all this sounds simple, it is. But, when you're trying to start a movement, it's got to be easy. So start using your oven for kitchen storage, heat up a pan, and get to it.

Blistered Asparagus

Bon Appétit

Originally Appeared on Epicurious