When you steam rice, you need to use this little interior bucket, but with other foods, they mostly just go right into the steaming container. I did some salmon (you need to use cooking spray on the bottom of the container to make sure it releases easily), and in 8 minutes it was cooked perfectly.
Then I tried asparagus. Same thing. Perfect tender crisp asparagus in no time.
The really fun thing was that the Black & Decker model we have allows you to add herbs so that the foods are subtly flavored as they steam. I used tarragon while steaming the salmon, and a dried bay leaf for the asparagus. Mike claimed he couldn't taste the bay, but I sure could! The meal was delicious. I'll share about the strawberry salad there in the picture next time!
Is the Black and Decker an electric appliance? I just use a stove top steamer.
ReplyDeleteHow long did you steam the asparagus? Do you peel the ends? I saw that on the Food Network and thought it would make them more tender all the way through, but haven't tried it yet.
My mouth is watering. It looks really yummy!
Yes, it's electric so that you don't have to turn on the stove. Very little heat and steam escapes into the room in comparison.
ReplyDeleteI don't peel the ends of my asparagus...I snap them off and compost them ;-) It took about 8 or 9 minutes to steam them tender-crisp, about 10 or 11 if you want them soft.