Wholesome Cooking Techniques: Part 2

Learn new techniques that boost the flavors and textures of the foods you already love that just happen to be good for you.

Lesson Objectives:
• Why Searing, Simmering, Blanching & Shocking, Sautéing and Roasting are healthy
• Understand the food science behind healthy cooking techniques
• Learn Proper Kitchen Techniques

Lesson Plan:
When it comes to mindful meals at home, this experience continues on the foundations of simple cooking. During this lesson, you will not only observe practical cooking techniques that you can easily replicate, but also understand why it’s better for you. You’ll love experimenting with new ways to create the flavor and textures you crave with these featured recipes.

Featured Video Recipe Tutorials:
• Perfect Chicken Breast with Grape Glaze
• Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
• Garlic Sautéed Green Beans

Technique: Searing

Recipe 1: Perfect Chicken Breast with Grape Glaze

Remember, consistency in size is consistency in cooking so make sure to pound the chicken breast until they are the same size. Blot away excess moisture on the chicken to ensure proper searing. Don’t peek under the chicken for the first two minutes! This will disrupt the caramelization process, or the Maillard reaction, which gives you that golden brown deliciousness. When the grapes and shallots are added, we are sweating them, meaning the moisture is evaporated so that the flavor is concentrated. Once the balsamic and mustard are added and simmered until thick, the sauce will be ready. Chunky, rustic sauce is perfect for chicken or salmon, while pureed sauce makes a great glaze or can even be used in a vinaigrette!

Technique: Roasting

Recipe 2: Crispy Sweet Potato Fries

Crispy is the closest we can get to fried while still being healthy. By soaking the sweet potatoes, the excess starch and water is pulled out which allows them to crisp up once they are roasted. Another way to get them nice and crispy is to make sure the sweet potatoes are evenly spread out on the pan. These sweet potato fries are a slam dunk to win you over with the idea that healthy can be easy and delicious.

Technique: Blanching & Shocking, Sautéing

Recipe 3: Garlic Sautéed Green Beans

Let’s try to break the stigma that healthy foods have no flavor. If salt is added to the water when blanching foods, it will provide the food with flavor but less sodium because the water will be poured off. Blanching and shocking will help to preserve the texture as well as the nutrients of the food. Its important to dry the beans off before sautéing so they can develop a nice caramelization, similar to how we did with the chicken. Flavor mostly comes from aroma or smell so when we add the citrus zest at the end, it creates another dimension and jazzes up the green beans. Definitely try the pan flip to look like a pro and impress your guests!