Steaming vegetables is one of the best ways to prepare them – it leaves almost all of the flavors and nutrients intact and doesn’t add any oil. But if you don’t happen to own a steamer of some kind, it’s still super easy to make wonderful steamy veggies! All you need is some parchment paper.
First chop and rinse whatever vegetables you’d like to make, I went with a nice green blend of broccoli, asparagus, and snap peas (I also added a sprig of rosemary and some chopped onions):
Then without drying them (you want a little moisture to make steam) lay them out in one-serving piles on a long sheet of parchment (you want to be able to fold the parchment in half right over your veggies)
You can also add some seasoning at this point, and I’d appreciate it if you could get it all over your counter like I did, it just makes me feel better.
Next, fold the parchment in half right over the vegetables.
Then begin wrapping the parchment by folding the edges in from the corner, like so:
It doesn’t have to be gorgeous, but try to make sure your folds are tight enough that they won’t pop open or let the steam out. You should end up with a little packet that looks like a calzone:
Pop that right into the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes or so, depending on how soft you like your vegetables, and then carefully remove it. The parchment will have puffed up a bit and gotten slightly brown.
Set out on a plate or counterop and slice open – be careful, steam will come out when you cut it. You can then serve it right in the paper, calling it “légumes en papillote” if you want to be fancy.
If you really like steaming vegetables (and why wouldn’t you? It’s awesome!) you may want to invest in an electric steamer so you don’t have to go through tons of parchment paper.
