Want to beat the bitterness of vegetables like Brussels sprouts and cabbage? A quick roast at high heat is your best bet.

Roasting sulfurous vegetables at high heat reduces their bitterness and gives them a subtle sweetness.

Case in point: Our recipe for Charred Brussels Sprouts, inspired by a dish at chef Travis Lett’s Los Angeles restaurant Gjelina. At Gjelina, Lett treats vegetables like steak. That is, he chars them in a cast-iron skillet to accomplish in minutes what could take half an hour or more in the oven.

For Brussels sprouts, that means a tender texture and charred, nutty flavor without any of the characteristic bitterness. The results are so impressive we don't stop with sprouts. We use a similar technique in our Roasted Cabbage with Cilantro and Sesame Charred Broccoli with Japanese-Style Toasted Sesame Sauce—two recipes you'll find in our latest cookbook, The New Rules.

The book, available here, lists clever recipes like these, each powered by a simple technique or tip that will change the way you cook. These rules are meant to provide both a foundation and a license to improvise: "To learn from others and rethink what we do at the stove," as Christopher Kimball puts it.

Try this rule in the recipe below and check out The New Rules cookbook here.