Steaming Spring Vegetables
Spring produce requires a light touch. When these vegetables are fresh from the ground, they need nothing more than high heat and a few minutes of steam to reach their peak.
Uniformity is the secret to even cooking.
Cut your vegetables into pieces of similar size so they finish at the same time. Start with boiling water to ensure the steam is already fully active when the vegetables hit the basket.
- steamer basket
- wide pot with a tight-fitting lid
- tongs
- chef's knife
What goes in.
- 1 lbasparagus, woody ends snapped off
- 8 ozsugar snap peas, strings removed
- 1 bunchbaby carrots, scrubbed
- 1 tbspunsalted butter
- 1/2 tspflaky sea salt
Keep the water low
Ensure the water level remains at least an inch below the bottom of the steamer basket. If the water touches the vegetables, you are boiling them, which leaches flavor into the water rather than keeping it inside the plant.
The method.
Prepare the water
Pour one inch of water into your pot. Bring it to a rolling boil over high heat.
Load the basket
Place the carrots in the steamer basket first, as they take the longest. Cover and steam for 3 minutes.
Add the rest
Remove the lid, add the asparagus and snap peas. Replace the lid immediately to trap the rising steam.
Check for color
Steam for another 3 to 4 minutes. The vegetables are done when they are bright in color and offer slight resistance to a knife tip.
Season and finish
Transfer to a bowl, toss immediately with butter and salt while they are still hot enough to melt it.
Other turns to take.
Lemon-Herb
Toss the finished vegetables with lemon zest and minced fresh chives.
Toasted Nut
Add a handful of toasted slivered almonds or pine nuts after buttering for crunch.
When it doesn't go to plan.
If you aren't serving immediately, plunge the steamed vegetables into an ice water bath to stop the cooking and lock in the green color.
Save the steaming water for use in soups; it is essentially a light vegetable stock.
Avoid overcrowding the basket; steam must circulate freely to cook effectively.
The ones that keep coming up.
How do I know if the steam is too low?
If you don't hear a steady, gentle rumble from the pot or see steam escaping from under the lid, the heat is too low.
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