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Cooking to Beat the Clock on A Chef's Table

A Sauté Pan is Not Always for Sautéing:
Beans 'n Greens, Italian Style.

I’m often asked what are the most important pots and pans for quick cooking. Without doubt one of them is a sauté pan.

The sauté pan is a staple of classical cooking but the name is a bit confusing. That’s because even though you can sauté in a sauté pan, the pan we most associate with sautéing is a skillet. What’s the difference? A skillet has sloping sides and a smaller capacity. It’s best for sautéing or frying pieces of meat like chicken breasts or the sausages in the recipe below. A sauté pan has higher, straight sides, which enable it to hold more, making the sauté pan ideal for quick soups, stews, and braised dishes.

For maximum efficiency, a sauté pan should have a diameter of 12 inches, which is large enough to brown enough meat for four people without crowding the pan. (Crowding steams the meat and makes it difficult to brown). The wide surface also allows soups to come to a boil, and sauces reduce more quickly because there is more surface area over the heat. A minimum 4-quart capacity is sufficient for almost any dish that serves four people, the number of servings I strive for in this column.

Because you’ll be cooking 15-minute meals like the Beans ‘n Greens below over high heat (at least part of the time) your sauté pan should be made of a heavy gauge metal with an aluminum or copper core that enables heat to be conducted evenly. The sauté pan should have a cover, which increases the pressure and thus the heat inside the pan. If you’re watching your weight, a nonstick surface is a good idea. But store these pans carefully. Put paper towels on the surface of the pans if they’re going to be stacked and use nonstick utensils to avoid scratching.

We eat a lot of canned beans in our house because they’re so convenient. We also like broccoli raab and other hearty greens like kale and mustard greens, both of which can be substituted for the broccoli raab in this dish. (As with all fresh vegetables used in this column, except salad greens, the broccoli raab is assumed to be washed when preparation begins.) A good red wine match would be an Italian Dolcetto or Barbera.

Beans ‘n Greens, Italian Style

1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, about 8 ounces
3 cloves garlic
1 bunch fresh broccoli raab or kale, about 1 pound
One 14.5-ounce can fat-free, reduced sodium chicken stock
Two 14.5-ounce cans cannellini beans
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Hot pepper flakes

1)While the hot-water tap runs, put the sausage in a large heavy skillet. Add 1/2 cup hot tap water, cover, and put over high heat. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, depending on the thickness of the sausage. Uncover and cook for 5 to 6 minutes longer, until the water evaporates and the sausage is lightly browned and has no pink in the center. Lower the heat when the water evaporates completely and turn the sausage once or twice to brown evenly.

2)Meanwhile, put the oil in a 12-inch sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Peel and quarter the onion and peel the garlic. Put the onion and garlic in a food processor and pulse until chopped. (Or chop by hand.) Add the onion and garlic to the skillet, stir, and increase the heat to medium high.

3)While the garlic and onion cook, cut off 1 inch from the bottom of the bunch of broccoli raab and remove any withered or yellowed leaves. Then lay the bunch on its side on a cutting board. Cut the bunch crosswise beginning at the top. The leafy tops should be cut into ribbons about 3/4-inch-wide. The stem portions should be no more than 3/8-inch wide. Put the broccoli raab into the sauté pan with the onion and garlic. Add the chicken stock, stir, cover, and increase the heat to high.

4)Empty the cans of beans into a colander and rinse. When the broccoli raab mixture comes to a boil, add the beans, salt and pepper to taste, and hot pepper flakes, if desired. Stir well, cover, and reduce the heat to medium high.

5)When the sausage is done, cut crosswise into 1-inch wide pieces. Add to the broccoli raab and beans. Stir well and cover. Cook about 4 minutes or until the greens are just tender. Serve with crusty Italian bread.

Serves 4

Per serving: 497 calories, 33 grams protein, 34 grams carbohydrate, 26 grams fat, 8 grams saturated fat, 65 mg cholesterol, 1208 mg sodium.