Steamed Vegetables

Ingredients

• 200g broccoli, cut into florets
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup cauliflower florets
• 100g green beans, trimmed
• 1 small zucchini, sliced (optional)
• For seasoning: 1 tbsp olive oil or butter, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, garlic powder or fresh garlic

Steps

1. 1

   Prepare the vegetables

   Wash all vegetables thoroughly. Cut into pieces of similar size so they steam at the same rate. Dense vegetables like carrots should be cut thinner than soft ones like zucchini.

2. 2

   Fill and preheat steamer

   Fill the electric steamer with water to the marked level. Preheat on high for 5 minutes.

3. 3

   Arrange in steamer

   Place dense vegetables (carrots, cauliflower) in the bottom tier closest to the steam source. Place softer vegetables (zucchini, green beans) in an upper tier.

4. 4

   Steam

   Steam on high: broccoli and zucchini need 5–7 minutes, green beans 7–8 minutes, cauliflower 8–10 minutes, carrots 10–12 minutes. Check by piercing with a fork — they should be tender but still have some resistance.

5. 5

   Season and serve

   Transfer immediately to a serving dish. Drizzle with olive oil or butter, season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Serve as a side dish or over rice.