Steaming for Dark Days
The humidifier gurgles constantly next to my bed; there's a second one in the living room. I can't help but linger over a pot of water boiling on the stove, catching its damp warmth on my face and then inhaling deeply to fill my lungs. The winter darkness has felt especially heavy this year, and I crank my shower hotter, hotter. I can't get enough steam to lift it all away. It was a long January for me: I got the post-holiday blues, I got the flu, I worried about the fate of our world. And I got sick of roasting trays of vegetables in my oven.
My mom has been talking about steamed leeks since November: "They cook so much faster when you steam them!" she says. "You won't believe how sweet and tender they are!" She even made them as a side for our Thanksgiving, served cold in a tangy mustard vinaigrette. They were, indeed, all of the things.
But then my post-holiday doldrums set in and I forgot about Mom's new favorite trick. Until, that is, I had one bowl of roasted brassicas too many and I remembered. Now that it's February, and I've become a steamed leek evangelist, too. It's not just the steaming of leeks I'm evangelizing now, though: I want to spread the mighty word of steaming everything for dinner. It's the cheapest, fastest cure I've found for roasted vegetable fatigue.
Steaming is powerful, but it leaves little trace. No sweetly caramelized and darkly crisped edges, no aroma of smoke, no spill of water—it's a hot, fast, and silent agent of change.
Vegetables come out tasting just like themselves, but cooked, which is exactly what a sufferer of roasted vegetable fatigue needs.
Any steamer insert or basket will work to get the job done. I use one of those metal folding steamer inserts at home, but a bamboo steamer works, or a steamer pot.
I've been steaming leeks in my steamer basket, yes, but I've also been steaming broccolini, potatoes, winter squash, green beans, broccoli, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets... and eggs. Anything that can be cooked in boiling water can be cooked by steam, which means that you can make a perfect midwinter midweek dinner right now, completely in your steamer, and it takes less than half an hour.
OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Steamer with Extendable Handle
$20.00, Amazon
Here's how it goes: While the water comes to a boil, you'll wash and trim a bunch of leeks, and scrub and halve some baby potatoes. Layer those into the bottom of your steamer, top them with eggs, then put the lid on for exactly 10 minutes. That's just enough time to whisk together a vinaigrette full of briny capers and verdant parsley (because this winter needs that pop and flourish), prep some broccolini, and clean up your kitchen a bit.
Then the eggs come out and the broccolini goes in, and in just the time it takes to peel the eggs, dinner is ready. I like to add a swoosh of mayo to the side of my favorite dinner bowl, then pile those hot steamed things on top and douse it all in the tangy dressing. And then I leave the steaming pot uncovered on the stove until it's cool, so it humidifies my kitchen while I dig into a dinner that's warm and cozy yet fresh and bright, without a roasted thing in sight.
Steamed Winter Veggie Bowls
Originally Appeared on Epicurious
