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1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 teaspoon dried tarragon

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Hardware:

4-quart saucepan

Microplane or other fine texture

grater

Cutting board

Chef’s knife

Colander

Ice

Large metal mixing bowl

Medium mixing bowl

Whisk

Blanching

Boiling water is at the heart of this technique, but since it’s the most powerful tool we have in the war against mushy, olive-drab, nasty-tasting vegetables, blanching deserves its own section here. Blanching is the process by which foods (usually fruits and firm green vegetables) are par-boiled briefly in salted water then quickly moved to ice water to halt the cooking process. (Blanching is often followed by another quick-cooking method such as sautéing.) Why bother with all this? Because vegetables are merciless time bombs just waiting to go off and ruin dinner. Don’t believe me? Grab a razor blade, a spear of asparagus, and a really big microscope.

Take a thin slice of the asparagus and look at it under the scope. It looks kind of like a box of Christmas ornaments. There are neat, enclosed cells containing various substances and mechanisms. Chlorophyll production here, food stores there, digestive enzymes in another, reproductive information in yet another. All kept safe and sound by cell walls, which are made out of a kind of plant cement, which is then reinforced with fibers (cellulose) just like concrete walls are reinforced with steel rods. The outer walls are encased in a waxy cuticle that keeps the whole thing air- and watertight. All is well, all is raw . . . all is unpalatable.

Now we drop the asparagus in rapidly boiling water. The temperature of the water drops quickly, but since we have a lot of water and leave the heat on high, the boil will recover soon. Almost immediately the cuticle and cement (pectins and whatnot) begin to soften from the heat and moisture. Within seconds the color begins to brighten because the oxygen and other gasses that were deflecting light away from the pigment in the chlorophyll dissipate out into the water. So do the acids that ordinarily would jump on those same pigments and turn them army green. Again, a lot of water will help flush those away as will a quick return to a boil, and an open pot (the gases have to be able to escape). If the target vegetable reaches satisfactory doneness before 6 or 7 minutes go by, you’ve got it made. The color, most of the nutrients, and the best of the flavor will be preserved. Pulling the food with a slotted strainer (good for working in batches) and moving it to ice water will immediately stop the destruction.

BOILING IN THE MICROWAVE

You want a cup of tea but you don’t want to wait for the kettle to boil so you take one of your really nice china cups and fill it with water. You place the cup in the middle of your microwave oven’s carousel and turn the big box to high for 3 minutes and go about your business.

Three minutes later the chime chimes and you pop open the door. Whistling a happy tune, you reach in and gingerly grasp the handle of your cup. You lift gently and without any warning whatsoever the water erupts out of the cup like Old Faithful with an attitude. A good portion of this water lands on your hand, scalding you badly. You drop your favorite cup (which breaks) and you howl like the injured animal you are.

How could this happen when the water wasn’t even boiling? A few reasons. In order to reach a boil there must be microscopic crags, chips, burrs, or cracks present on the surface for dissolved gases to meet and accumulate on. If the vessel in question is super smooth, the gases may not get together and undertake their bubbly journey. In the future, place a wooden skewer or even a toothpick in the water so that there will be coalescing points for the water vapor to gather. You’ll be glad you did.

But if that china cup has lead in the glaze, your fingers will still be toast.

STEAM: THE SHORT FORM

• If you’re using unfiltered tap water, let it boil for at least a minute before adding the food and covering the pot.