One of the first restaurants I worked in was Cybele’s in Boston’s Faneuil Hall. We were on a very tight budget, so instead of making 1 or 2 special vegetables for each dish we would serve a one size fits all starch and vegetable and plop them on every plate. I developed this quick and easy way to cook vegetables, which involves just one large skillet. I put the sliced carrots, green beans, cauliflower florets, etc into the pan with a couple of pats of butter and a little bit of water. Then I would cover the pan, simmer the vegetables until they were almost tender and then remove the lid and cook until the water evaporated and the vegetables were glazed in that butter. It was a very quick process suitable to a fast moving restaurant or a quick home- cooked weeknight meal. Try this method with any of your favorite vegetables.

Makes 4 servings
Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Total preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 large head broccoli
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper

Cut broccoli into flowerets, reserving stems for another use. Combine broccoli with butter, soy sauce, and 1/4-inch water in a skillet just large enough to hold the broccoli in one layer. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.

Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 3 minutes.

Remove the cover and simmer the broccoli until most of the liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir until all flowerets are nicely coated with the butter mixture and serve.