Steam Oven Cooking Made Easy - Part 3

How to get the most out of your steam oven? Plan to cook multiple foods at one time.

If you have mastered the basics of steam oven cooking, as outlined in parts 1 and 2 of this series, then it’s time to explore other ways of using your steam oven. Part 3 will cover the basics of cooking multiple dishes simultaneously.

Steaming

Steaming multiple foods at one time is easy; once the oven is set to the steam mode, you can steam any grain, vegetables, pulses, fish, shellfish, and even eggs, making meal preparation much easier. For example,  if you plan a summer BBQ, you can steam potatoes and eggs for potato salad, broccoli and couscous for a salad, orzo pasta and shrimp,  or corn on the cob. The possibilities are endless. All you have to do is plan the staging in the oven and the timing for each item.  

Best of all, while the various foods are steaming, you can focus on preparing the other components for each salad and easily assemble each dish as the food is cooked. Not only can you easily prepare multiple dishes, but there will be no cooktop or saucepans to clean, and the cooking containers can be washed in the dishwasher. 

Roasting

Roasting a variety of vegetables together with a quick-cooking protein is perhaps the easiest and healthiest way to prepare a meal. Again, it’s important to think through the staging of each dish in the oven, as well as the timing and the temperature. Roasting is done in the combination Convection/Steam mode, and if your oven has options for the amount of steam, choose 50-60%.

If you want to sear meat or poultry first, using a drier heat will give the best results. Heat the oven in the Convection mode to 375 - 425 F and cook the meat for 12 - 15 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 340 and change the mode to the Combination Convection Steam mode for the remainder of the cooking time.