Winter Steam Oven Meals featuring Bosch Convection Steam Oven
By Larissa Taboryski on Jan 30th,2016The Bosch Steam oven is one of the most versatile tools of the modern kitchen and while you might start out only using the Steam Mode or the Re-Heating Mode as you become more comfortable with the oven you will soon find yourself using the oven for a great deal of your cooking, it’s just a process of familiarization. Cooking with steam inhibits cellular breakdown of food resulting in better flavor, texture and nutritional value and foods cooked in Convection have better moisture retention so the two combined yield fabulous results.
Braises and stews are delicious warming winter meals that are easy to cook in the Steam Oven, typically these dishes take 1 1/2 – 2 hours to cook but the melt-in-your mouth results are completely worth the time. These dishes often yield enough for much more than one meal and the real bonus is that they are so easy to put together. Traditionally braises and stews are cooked in a heavy pan with a tight-fitting lid in the oven, the tight fitting lid creates steam that tenderizes the meat as it slowly cooks in a flavorful broth of vegetables, herbs, stock and perhaps some wine. Because the vegetables that are cooked with the braise have given up most of their nutritional value to the sauce those vegetables are usually pressed through a strainer to release their juices and discarded then, fresh vegetables are steamed or roasted and added to the braise before serving. If you have prepared your braise a day or two in advance then the Steam Oven is also the perfect place to gently reheat the braise.
Cooking is all about planning and the more planning you do the easier the cooking process is. For example, if you are planning to cook a simple oven meal of roast chicken and roasted vegetables, get the chicken cooking and prep the vegetables then while that meal is in the oven you can prepare the braise and place it in the steam oven to cook. So without much fuss you have easily prepared two simple but delicious meals. Convection ovens and Convection Steam ovens are amazing tools and the more you plan to use them the more enjoyable your time in the kitchen will be.
When braising in the Steam Oven, follow the recipe directions for preparing the braise but plan to cook it in a large casserole dish in the Steam Oven without a cover and use the Combination Convection Steam Mode 300 degrees. After braising you may notice a greasy film on the inside of the oven but it will wipe clean with warm soapy water.