Water hisses in the pan. That apparent failure begins the work: zucchini, fennel, tomatoes, and onions surrender liquid until the pool boils away; then amino acids and sugars can brown at the surface through Maillard reactions, creating notes too often credited to meat. The trick is timing.The impatient cook loses. Crowding turns a skillet into a steam chamber, so brown each vegetable in stages, w...More