Italian Stir-fried Vegetables

The trick with this dish is to make it look nice. You can use a variety of vegetables, such as string beans; this version was made using zucchini and yellow squash. It turns out to have a really nice taste and would be a great recipe in summer and winter.

Ingredients

Preparation

Cut the various vegetables into about 2 inch lengthwise pieces. If you're using zucchini and yellow squash, you should cut them into quarters (as wedges) before cutting them lengthwise.

Put the olive oil in the bottom of a pan, over a high flame. Add the powdered oregano and basil. These spices need to roast in the oil only for a short time, maybe 30 seconds. Then add in all the cut vegetables and a little bit of salt (1-2 tsp) and stir thoroughly. The salt draws the water out of the vegetables so they cook in their own juices.

Cover the vegetables and turn the flame down. (At this time, you should start the pasta or salad or whatever other things you want to eat). Stir the vegetables every minute or so. After a few minutes, toss in the fresh parsley (and fresh oregano, if you have it).

This all cooks quickly, in a matter of just a few minutes. You can tell when it's cooked by the tenderness of the zucchini -- they should be soft but not nondescript.

Variations

You can modify the vegetables as you see fit.

You can also modify the herbs and spices used -- I imagine that with the appropriate spices, you could just as easily call this "Mexican stir-fried vegetables", "Indian stir-fried vegetables", etc.