Sautéing is an exciting cooking experience. All your senses are engaged with the high heat, the loud sizzle of the pan, the active stirring and tossing, and the delightful smells of browning food and the perfumes of aromatics added at the end. Sautéing is best suited to small pieces of meat, fish, shellfish, and vegetables. The pieces are tossed or stirred in a hot pan with a small amount of oil. This cooks them quickly; meat stays succulent and vegetables fresh and juicy. A sauté pan has rounded sides, which makes it easier to toss the food than if you use a classic frying pan or skillet—although in a pinch, a frying pan will do a fine job. When sautéing, ingredients are added in quantity—though not in quantities that can’t be easily tossed or stirred—and need to be moved about quickly so that all sides of all the pieces make contact with the hot pan right away. The pan must be quite hot and the heat turned up before the cooking begins to ensure that the food is seared immediately. Otherwise it will start to sweat, lowering the chances of browning and raising the chances of sticking. There should be a gratifying sizzle when the food hits the pan. To check if the pan is hot enough, add a drop or two of water beforehand. Use an oil with a high smoking point to sauté. Clarified butter also works well, but whole butter will eventually burn, even when mixed with oil. Only a small amount of fat is needed, just enough to coat the pan and keep the food from sticking. Occasionally, some ingredients absorb all the oil and threaten to stick; add more oil right away, pouring it down the side of the pan so it has a chance to heat up on its way in. Meat and vegetables are seasoned with salt and pepper either in advance or right at the start of the cooking; most other seasonings are added towards the end to keep them from burning. In some recipes, garlic or ginger is cooked briefly in hot oil for flavor and removed before the main ingredients are added to the pan. Have all your ingredients ready to go before you start cooking, as there will be no time to gather them once you start to sauté.

　　

Ingredients

4 servings

　　1 large head or 2 small heads cauliflower

　　2 tablespoons olive oil

　　Salt

　　Extra-virgin olive oil

　　

Step 1

Clean the leaves from: 1 large head or 2 small heads cauliflower.

　　

Step 2

Remove the base of the stem with a small, sharp knife. From the top down, cut the cauliflower into 1/4-inch slices. (If the cauliflower is large, cut in half for easier slicing.)

　　

Step 3

Heat in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat: 2 tablespoons olive oil.

　　

Step 4

Once the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the cauliflower with: Salt.

　　

Step 5

Let the cauliflower sit until it starts to brown a bit before stirring or tossing. Cook, continuing to stir or toss until the cauliflower is tender, about 7 minutes total. Don’t worry if the cauliflower starts to break up; that is part of the charm of the dish. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Finish with a drizzle of: Extra-virgin olive oil.

　　

Variations

Step 6

When the cauliflower is a minute or so from being done, add a couple of chopped garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley.

　　

Step 7

Garnish with a handful of Toasted Breadcrumbs (page 63).

　　

Step 8

A classic Italian dish adds the parsley and garlic along with chopped salt-cured anchovies and capers, hot chile flakes, and coarsely chopped olives. This is delicious on pasta.

　　

Step 9

Sprinkle with fresh-ground cumin, chopped garlic, turmeric, and chopped cilantro during the last few minutes of cooking.

　　The Art of Simple Food