Beautiful vegetables, a lid and low heat can work out really well.

Mushrooms are the base of this simple side (could double as a chunky sauce almost), so please play fast and loose with the other vegetable components. This recipe is a concept, not a dictation.

The version here was a fridge cleaner/farmers' market product: peppers, green onions, carrots (in August in Texas, no less), garlic and herbs, all bound with a splash of cream.

Fricassee is a difficult- and fancy-sounding technique that's actually neither. It can be applied to many, many things, but basically something is browned, then slowly cooked with the lid on over low heat. At least that's how I do it. 

The browning introduces nice, caramelized flavors and textures, then the resultant steam is trapped and creates a sauce, all the while deglazing any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with the actual steamy juices coming from whatever you're cooking. That's cool. In this case, it's just vegetables, but you could imagine how good it would be with proteins like game birds or tender cuts of deer. The whole process takes from 30 to 60 minutes (a broad generalization), so choose things that will cook in that time period, or cut vegetables small enough to where they'll be just tender in that timeframe. So really, it's mostly about getting even-sized pieces of vegetables and meats that will cook appropriately.

I'm serving this with turkey cutlets, but that's secondary. This would be great with most simple poultry preparations, fish and grilled venison. Or pork chops. Pretty much anything.

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

10 ounces mushrooms, torn or cut into medium pieces

1 medium onion, or a big handful of green onion, wild onion or ramps, diced or sliced thinly

1-2 cups sliced sweet peppers (optional)

4 medium carrots, turnips or parsnips, or a combination, cut into even 1” pieces

A handful of green beans or other pole beans, cut into 2” lengths

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

1 cup heavy cream

A big handful of fresh chopped herbs, such as basil, parsley, cilantro, mint marigold or chives, or a combination

1 organic lemon, zested and then cut into wedges for serving

Melt the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat in a large, lidded pan. Add the mushrooms, onion, peppers and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and very lightly browned around the edges, about 5-8 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper, add the garlic and green beans, and cook for another minute.

Turn the heat to low and add the lid. Cook for about 20 minutes (depending on the vegetables you’ve added), until tender, stirring about every 5 minutes to ensure it’s not sticking or burning. If it starts to stick, add a couple tbsp of water and turn the heat down even lower.

Once the vegetables are tender and looking great, add the cream, half the chopped herbs and the lemon zest. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat until thickened and the cream is cloaking the vegetables. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve with the remaining herbs and the wedges of lemon to be added by your guests.