By Sidonie Maroon, Culinary Educator for the Food Co-op

Sautéing has a powerful mystique in the culinary world. Somehow, if you know how to cook with a little fat, in an open pan, over a relatively high heat, allowing the food to brown and not burn, by occasionally flipping it with a spatula, or show off style making the food jump into the air with wrist action then you are chef material. Sautéing, like all things once alluring, has become a chore. When I’m confronted with once again standing in front of a frying pan, and waiting for the onions to soften, I dream of a better way. What is the purpose of sautéing? To sweeten and deepen flavor. The temperature within the cell walls of sautéing plants rises in a hot pan, causing complex sugars to break down into simple ones which we perceive as sweet. Through chemistry and physics, a sharp raw onion becomes a caramelized miracle.  In bored laziness, which is my place for new ideas, I came up with oven sautéing. Can you really oven sauté? No more than you can air fry, but despite the fake terms, I like this method for its ease, and how it allows me to develop flavor while freeing up my time to get other parts of the meal ready. The clean up is easy, and with some thought, it’s an energy efficient option. 

Why Does an Oven Work Better?

The oven brings heat evenly to all sides of the food, not just the bottom of a pan, so there’s less need to stir, and a convection oven is even better at distributing the heat. Lots of counter top ovens are energy efficient and have a convection option. 

How To Oven Sauté

425 F is best for an oven sauté. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment for easy cleanup. Start with a triad or quartet of vegetables, for example, the classic French mirepoix (meer-PWAH) flavor base made from onion, carrots and celery diced small, in the ratio of 2 parts onion to 1 part each celery and carrots. Add them all to the sheet in a single layer with a couple of tablespoons of oil and oven sauté for 20 minutes. Depending on your recipe, you can further deepen and sweeten the flavor with another 10 to 15 minutes. During this last period, stir them once or twice so the edges don’t burn.

Further Possibilities

Add wine, herbs, tomatoes, or meats to the sauté flavor base. Make taco fillings, pasta sauces and casserole parts completely in the oven using this method. After the initial oven sauté is done, you can add seasoned ground meat to it and cook at the same temperature for 15 minutes. For a pasta sauce, add herbs, wine and tomatoes and cook for another 15 minutes, or lower the heat, cover the tray, and simmer it until done. Try making big batches of sauté flavor bases and freeze in portions for all kinds of applications. 

Famous sauté bases to try in the oven

Cajun Holy Trinity: onion, green bell pepper, and celery.

Italian Soffritto: A variation on mirepoix uses minced vegetables, and is cooked in olive oil.

Spanish Sofrito: tomatoes, onions, garlic, and other seasonal vegetables.

French Pinçage: French pinçage (pronounced pin-sahge) is mirepoix with added tomato paste.

German Suppengrün: includes carrots, leeks, and celery root and herbs like parsley or thyme.

Spicy Tomato Onion Sauce

Makes 1 ½ cups

A delicious bright pasta sauce with a sweet heat. Use it for pasta, on eggs or a multitude of yummy options.

2 medium large onions, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced

¼ cup olive oil

14-ounce can of chopped tomatoes or the equivalent fresh peeled and seeded

¼ teaspoon chili flakes, or 2 medium hot chilies chopped and added to the onions

¼ teaspoon salt plus a pinch more to finish

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

¼ cup water

1)Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2)Toss onions, chilies if using, and garlic with the olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes. Stir and roast for another 10 minutes. Stir several times during the last ten minutes so that nothing chars. A little char around the edges is ok.

3)Add the tomatoes with juice to the sheet, with the salt, chili flakes and vinegar. Roast for 15 minutes.

4)Using a food processor, add the veggies. I lift the parchment and slide the veg off the paper into the processor. Add the water and pulse together several times. Puree until chunky smooth.

Serve on pasta or use as a side sauce.

Parsley Coriander Soup with Walnut Paprika Sizzle 

Makes 2 quarts

1 ½ hours

A bounty of parsley, and a coriander parsley sauce I’m fond of, inspired this creamy, flavorful soup. All that green needed a touch of drama, thus the paprika sizzle. I remembered how well walnuts, parsley and coriander taste together and oh they do. If you want the parsley to stay bright green, then add the lemon juice at the table before the sizzle. Acid makes the greens darken, but adds immensely to the flavor. I don’t mind the color, kinda split pea soup, but this soup has nothing else in common. I promise.    

Soup Ingredients

¼ cup unsalted butter

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

2 carrots, chopped into a medium dice

2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cut into a medium dice  

6 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups parsley leaf, chopped (packed) (reserve stems for the broth)

1 cup cilantro (reserve stems for the broth)

2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon freshly ground coriander seed (use a spice or coffee grinder)

Broth Ingredients

1 ½ quarts water 

reserved parsley stems

reserved cilantro stems

2 tablespoons anchovy fish sauce (red boat)

Finishing ingredients

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons coconut sugar, or unprocessed whole cane sugar

sea salt as needed (I used another teaspoon of flaked sea salt)

freshly ground black pepper to taste 

Sizzle ingredients

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons toasted walnut oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

pinch of fine sea salt

Directions

In a soup pot, simmer the parsley and cilantro stems together for ½ hour, while you’re  preparing the other parts of the soup. When finished, strain the broth, return it to the pot, and add the fish sauce. Bring it to a high simmer, adding the diced potatoes and cook them until soft. 

Meanwhile, in a heavy-bottomed saute pan, saute the onions in butter for 10 minutes over a medium high heat. Add the carrots and continue to saute until they’re sweet, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another 3 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, the freshly ground coriander and red pepper flakes.

Turn the heat off the broth, and add the saute, parsley and cilantro. In a high-powered blender, puree the soup until smooth, adding the remaining salt, lemon juice, sugar and pepper. Taste and correct the seasonings as needed. Return only the portion that you’ll be eating to the pot, bringing it up to temperature and serve with the sizzle. It’s best to heat the parsley and cilantro only once. 

To make the sizzle, melt the butter in a small saute pan, over a medium heat. Add the paprika and heat until foaming, add the walnut oil, zest, salt and lemon juice. Swirl the sizzle over the soup, using a fork to create a marbled effect and serve immediately.

Cream of Chickweed Lemon Garlic Soup

Instant Pot, 6 quart or larger

Makes 3 quarts

1 ½ hours mostly hands-off

This is a rainy day, Springtime comfort food. Perfect to use up an abundance of garden chickweed, considered a weed, but actually a diverse, nutritious green that’s easy to grow and harvest. It’s best before it’s gone to seed. Clean the chickweed like you would other garden greens, giving it several rinsings. Cut it up with scissors into mouth-sized pieces and spin out any excess water with a salad spinner. It will keep refrigerated for a week. I use it like parsley in recipes. It makes wonderful pesto, and, as you’ll find, soup. Beware, the soup’s color is drab green, which doesn’t affect the flavor, but serve it with a colorful salad or swirl something into each bowl to create contrast.    

Ingredients

10 cups chickweed cleaned and chopped

⅓ cup olive oil

2 medium onions chopped

8 cloves garlic minced

2 carrots cut into a small dice

2 stalks celery cut into a small dice

6 cups rich vegetable stock

2 tablespoons Bragg’s aminos

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tbsp fresh marjoram

1 cup raw cashews

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flake

2 bay leaves

To finish

1 ½ teaspoons

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup coconut sugar 

Directions

Gather all of your ingredients and equipment together, mise en place.

Set the Instant Pot to high saute, add the olive oil and let it warm. Add the chopped onions and saute for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

While your onions are sauteing, prep the carrots, celery and garlic. You’ll add them to the saute after ten minutes. Continue to saute for another 5 minutes. Now add the tomato paste, cashews, marjoram, 1 teaspoon of the sea salt, red pepper flake and bay leaves. Stir everything together and turn off the Instant Pot.

Add the chickweed and vegetable stock, pressing everything down so it’s under the maximum fill line.

Check the Instant Pot lid’s sealing ring to make sure it’s in place, put the lid on and set the pressure valve correctly. Use the soup/broth function or set to high pressure for 30 minutes with a 15 minute natural release.

After the soup has cooked, release the pressure and take off the lid. Using a high-speed blender, blend the soup in two to three batches until creamy and smooth.

Taste, and then add the fresh lemon juice, coconut sugar and remaining 1 ½ teaspoons more salt. The flavors should harmonize. A zingy top note, with a touch of heat and lingering umami flavors.

Serve hot with fresh bread and a colorful salad.

Instant Pot Caramelized Onions

Makes 3 cups

40 minutes

The trick to easy caramelized onions is allowing them to steam and then cooking off their moisture. I used to do this by putting a lid on my pot for the first 10 minutes, but the Instant Pot works wonderfully. With this technique instead of watching and stirring for 45 minutes, it’s only 15 minutes of hands on time. Use the caramelized onions for soup and stew bases. You can portion and freeze them for quick meals with slow-cooked flavor.   

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

3 lbs yellow onions, about 7 medium, cut in half stem to root, and thinly sliced stir fry style

1 teaspoon flaked sea salt

Directions

Melt the butter in the Instant Pot on low saute. Add the onions and coat them in the melted butter. Make sure the Instant Pot seal is in place and put the lid on. Set to high pressure for 2 minutes with an instant release. Remove the lid and stir the onions. They will have reduced and started to brown on the bottoms. Push cancel and then high saute. Let them continue to reduce on high saute and color for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the salt. The onions are done when they’re a deep golden brown and sweet with a buttery taste.