How to Make Canned Vegetables Taste Luxurious
I grew up eating a lot of canned vegetables, mostly at my grandmother’s house, but sometimes at home. (I was a big fan of making pizza rolls in the toaster and often used canned mushrooms as toppings.) My mom used them sparingly, but it was the only vegetable my grandmother cooked with, even if that vegetable was potatoes . .
My grandmother hated to cook, but I enjoyed eating her food, probably because she “seasoned” with more and more oil. Her method of making canned vegetables was to toss a whole stick of butter into a microwave-safe dish with several cans of Evening Vegetable, then heat it all up with a nuke until it was hot.
My recipe for canned vegetables is similar, but with one major difference: I fry the oil first (and use a little less of it). Butter browning fills your kitchen with the intoxicating aroma of toasted, toasted butter solids, signaling to everyone in the house that you ‘re cooking and distracting them from the jars they might see.
Then there’s the flavor, the wonderful, deep brown flavor brought to you by the golden, toasted milk solids suspended in a pool of pure milk fat. This, my friends, is a taste of luxury—definitely French luxury, if you call it “beurre Noisette”—and it overshadows the more processed flavors you often find in a can of vegetables.
Two to three tablespoons of butter per jar of vegetables should be enough. Place the ( unsalted ) butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The water will froth and boil away, and the milk solids will settle to the bottom of the pot. Continue cooking, stirring the oil until it turns a dark amber color, then add the canned vegetables to the pan and stir everything together. Add salt and pepper to taste. He works with peas, beans, potatoes (lightly crushed), mushrooms (they are lightly fried), corn, hominy, carrots, and most other canned vegetables.
If you want your dish to look as sumptuous as it tastes, brown a little butter, set aside a tablespoon or so, then drizzle it over your bowls and top with some fresh herbs. (Red pepper flakes work too.)