Quick-Cooked Bok Choy MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 30 minutes Bok choy is, dare I say it, unique. Not the greens; they’re about the same as those of many other cabbages. But its fat, thick stems become creamy and tender during cooking in a way that you cannot duplicate...

Quick-Braised Burdock and Carrots Kinpira Gobo MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 15 minutes If you've never tried burdock, this traditional Japanese dish is a nice introduction. The textures and colors are great. Serve with plain white or brown rice or, for a less authent...

Panfried Eggplant (or Any Other Vegetable) MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 1 hour This is the model for frying vegetables so they’re crunchy and tender, like the zucchini sticks you get in chain restaurants, only better. Eggplant produces a very substantial “cutlet”...

Crunchy Corn Guacamole MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 15 minutes A new twist on the traditional guacamole (which you can find in the form of the first variation). The fresh corn kernels add texture and flavor without taking away from that of the avocado. 1 lime 1 cup corn...

Buttered Cabbage MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 20 minutes For a two-ingredient vegetable dish, this is pretty great, especially when you consider cabbage is a vegetable that everyone pooh-poohs. But even with ordinary white cabbage, this is simply delicious (it's a tad...

Brussels Sprouts in Coconut Milk MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 30 minutes You can give Brussels sprouts or any kind of cabbage, for that matter an Indian-style treatment as simply as cooking it in butter or oil with a sprinkling of curry powder. But this is a more...

Broccoli, Cauliflower, or Just About Anything Else, Roman Style MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 30 minutes If there's a more versatile way to cook vegetables, it's boiling, and this is much more interesting. You see almost everything done this way in Rome, and it's always...

Braised Artichoke Hearts MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 45 minutes This dish is just as good at room temperature as it is hot, and you'll probably want to double it to be sure you have leftovers for tossing with pasta or rice, topping pizzas, or mixing into frittatas. You...

Braised and Glazed Brussels Sprouts MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 30 minutes Sometimes I like to brown Brussels sprouts a bit, which is why this braise-and-glaze technique is a little different from the general description and deserves a special recipe. I also like to leave...

Boiled or Steamed Greens MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 10 to 30 minutes This is the basic method for cooking any greens (or, as you'll see from the variation, just about any vegetable at all). Boiling gives you a little more control, but steaming is faster; both work just...