Braising

Braised vegetables can be served as a separate course or as an accompaniment to a meat or fish dish. Braising involves cooking the vegetables relatively slowly either on top of the stove or in the oven with a fairly small amount of liquid. Unlike boiling, where the object is to cook the vegetables as quickly as possible to preserve the individual texture and flavour, braising is designed to create different flavours by intermingling the ingredients. The choice of cooking liquid is therefore vitally important, not just for the cooking process but also as a part of the finished dish. Veal or chicken stock is often used, but wine can also be added, depending on the required character of the finished dish. The perfect stock for braising vegetables should have sufficient flavour to enhance the dish but not drown the taste of the vegetables. It should also be of good enough quality to reduce to a syrupy texture during the cooking process without an additional thickening agent. Other flavouring elements should be used too, such as garlic, fresh herbs, finely chopped onion or perhaps bacon.