STEAM ‘TIL YOU SCREAM YELLOW BEETS

So steamy, so screamy, and oh so dreamy!

Here at COOK TO BANG we are constantly one upping our latest and greatest recipe so we forget the simple, yet awesome things. Steaming the-powered beets is a healthy and damn tasty choice for a side dish. Beets have few calories to speak of, a megaton of fiber and enough boron to keep Erectile Dysfunction at bay. Once the kitchen gets steamy, you are sure to look more dreamy to your date. Choose the enter you will serve with the beets wisely because you don’t want it to be shown out by a tasty little root vegetable. Now get scheming and start steaming!

Total time: approximately 20 minutes
Projected cost: $2
Drinking Buddy: Depends on the entrée

Ingredients (serves 2):
1. 1 bunch of yellow beets

Step 1
Cut the stalks off the beets, wash them thoroughly, and then cut off both ends.

Step 2
Steam the beets covered until you can easily pierce them with a fork (approx 15 min). Cut them in half and serve as a charming side dish compliment to your favoriteentree Just remove the skin and eat. Add some balsamic vinegar or honey if you feel bold.

Ginger & Serrano Steamed Roughy

This is one of our favorite quick meals, not to mention healthy. If you don’t have one already, pick yourself up a bamboo steamer – it’s the best $20 you’ll ever spend.

We use frozen orange roughy for this, but any fresh or frozen fish would work (the recipe originally called for snapper, we’ve tried tilapia as well). If you do use frozen fish, put it in the fridge the night before so it is good and thawed before you steam it.

Ginger and Serrano Steamed Roughy

Makes 2 servings.

INGREDIENTS
2 orange roughy filets
1 tablespoon medium-dry Sherry
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 piece fresh ginger, cut into matchsticks
1 scallion, cut into thin strips
2 serrano chiles, cut into thin strips
1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
Assorted greens, such as spinach, kale, or bok choy.

DIRECTIONS
Arrange a bamboo steamer on top of a large saucepan and add enough water to fill pan about 1/3 of the way. Bring water to a boil. Spray bottom of steamer lightly with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Fill top layer of steamer with greens and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Score skin of fish in several places. Stir together Sherry and salt in a small bowl, then rub mixture onto both sides of fish, leaving skin side up.

Heat vegetable oil in a small skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté ginger, scallion, and chiles, stirring, until fragrant but not browned, about 30 seconds, and spoon over fish. Carefully transfer fish to bottom layer of steamer and cover tightly, then steam until fish is just cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes. Carefully remove from steamer and sprinkle fish with sesame oil. Serve fish on a bed of jasmine rice and steamed greens.

Steamed Artichokes with Salsa Verde

We had a very green dinner tonight, Pesto Gnocchi and Steamed Artichokes with Salsa Verde. Should have waited until this Saturday to cook it, huh?

The salsa really has a nice flavor. It definitely needs lemon, though, so if you boil your artichokes instead of steaming them with lemon juice, be sure to add a few teaspoons of lemon juice to the salsa. We also skipped the whipping cream, one because I don’t do dairy, and two because it just seemed out of place?

Steamed Artichokes with Salsa Verde

Makes 4 servings. Recipe from Bon Appetit.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 cup fresh italian parsley leaves
2 tablespoons drained capers, rinsed
3 tablespoons shallot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves
1 anchovy fillet
pinch of dried crushed red pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons whipping cream
2 teaspoons Sherry wine vinegar

4 medium globe artichokes
1/2 lemon

DIRECTIONS
Head small skillet over medium heat. Add fennel seeds and toast until aromatic and beginning to darken, about 2 minutes. Transfer seeds to food processor. Add parsley, capers, shallot, garlic, tarragon, anchovy, and crushed red pepper to processor. Puree until coarse paste forms, scraping down sides occasionally. Transfer to medium bowl. Whisk in oil, cream, and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature).

Lay 1 artichoke on its side and cut off top third; cut off stem at base of artichoke. Using scissors, cut top 1/2 inch off each remaining leaf. Rub all cut surfaces with lemon, squeezing slightly to release juice. Repeat with remaining artichokes.

Place rack on bottom of large pot. Add enough water just to touch rack. Bring to a boil. Place artichokes on rack in pot. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and steam artichokes until tender, adding more water if necessary, about 30 minutes.

Veggie Steamed Dumplings

These are one of our favorites. A bit time consuming to make all the little fellas, but well worth it. Have I mentioned that a bamboo steamer is the best $20 you’ll ever spend? Plus it makes these a healthy treat as opposed to sautéing them in oil.

Taylor makes a dipping sauce with a bunch of crazy things, soy sauce, siracha hot sauce, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, and who knows what else. Maybe next time he makes it I’ll try to wrestle a recipe out of him. A simple soy sauce dipping sauce would be perfect though. ;)

Veggie Steamed Dumplings

Makes 35-40 dumplings. Recipe from Alton Brown.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound firm tofu
1/2 cup coarsely grated carrots
1/2 cup shredded Napa cabbage
2 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Bowl of water, plus additional water for steamer
35 to 40 small wonton wrappers
Non-stick vegetable spray, for the steamer

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

Cut the tofu in half horizontally and lay between layers of paper towels. Place on a plate, top with another plate, and place a weight on top (a 14-ounce can of vegetables works well). Let stand 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, cut the tofu into 1/4-inch cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the carrots, cabbage, red pepper, scallions, ginger, cilantro, soy sauce, hoisin, sesame oil, egg, salt, and pepper. Lightly stir to combine.

To form the dumplings, remove 1 wonton wrapper from the package, covering the others with a damp cloth. Brush the edges of the wrapper lightly with water. Place 1/2 rounded teaspoon of the tofu mixture in the center of the wrapper. Shape as desired. Set on a sheet pan and cover with a damp cloth. Repeat procedure until all of the filling is gone.

Using a steaming apparatus of your choice, bring 1/4 to 1/2-inch of water to a simmer over medium heat. Spray the steamer’s surface lightly with the non-stick vegetable spray to prevent sticking. Place as many dumplings as will fit into a steamer, without touching each other. Cover and steam for 10 to 12 minutes over medium heat. Remove the dumplings from the steamer to a heatproof platter and place in oven to keep warm. Repeat until all dumplings are cooked.