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Hello!
In the last Insiders issue we went all-in on something complex and time consuming (croissants! If you missed it, the journal issue is here and the recipe here). Today, I’m flipping things around with a recipe for a VERY simple combi steam pasta sauce that stars zucchini in a big way.
I’m also doing something a bit different today, where I’m answering an Insider member’s question with a rambling audio chat. The question was about my rationale for choosing steam settings in the recipes I publish. I’m not sure I’ve answered the question exactly, but I am giving you a peek into how I think about recipe development and adapting to combi steam! I hope you’ll get something from it.
Enjoy today’s content, see you again in mid May.
Emily x
New to Learn
How I think about combi steam when I create recipes
I’ve talked for years about the various combi steam oven settings to use, and how to adapt certain foods to make the most of these settings. I’ve given explanations when people ask, and created charts and guidelines for combi steam cooking. But I haven’t delved deep into why I choose specific settings for specific foods.
I received a simple-sounding question from one of my longtime Insider members, Barbara. She asked about my rationale for choosing certain humidity percentages or levels for each of the recipes I publish. The why.
The more I mulled it over, the more I realized there wasn’t a straightforward answer! It’s really a question about how my brain thinks about recipes and combi steam in a wider sense. I wasn’t sure I could answer in written form, so instead I’ve made you an audio clip talking about exactly that: how I think about combi steam in relation to cooking and recipes.
Listen to the audio now (and if audio isn’t your thing, you can see a transcript for the file directly from that link too).
When you’ve listened, tell me: did it bring up other questions about combi steam for you?? Did you enjoy the audio format? I’m very happy to do more audio content if it’s popular.
New to Cook
Braised zucchini pasta is the kind of meal that sneaks up on you with how good it is. There’s no cream, no meat, no long list of ingredients. Just soft, sweet zucchini, olive oil, garlic and parmesan, slowly cooked down to a sauce that perfectly coats every bit of pasta in your bowl. A generous handful of fresh basil at the end makes it feel fresh and summery.
The recipe is based on the Italian method of pan frying and then braising zucchini for pasta sauce, but I use my steam oven to cut the prep effort and time down significantly.
‘Quick-braising’ the zucchini in your steam oven gives it time to soften and brown, while holding onto enough moisture to become luscious and silky. And yes, I know quick braising isn’t really a thing, but it’s the best way I can describe this technique. The resulting dish is savoury and comforting, but not heavy.
A Thing I'm Loving
The exact pasta dish from this issue is, as I write, with one of my children at school, warmed this morning and packed up in his Thermos food jar. (aff. link, likely also available many other places!)
After trying a bunch of cutesy kids food jars over the years, and finding all of them lacking in their ability to stay warm through till lunchtime, I hit upon this one recently. It’s relatively inexpensive, utilitarian enough for older kids and adults and seems to be virtually indestructible. And the best thing is if you preheat the jar with hot water, and heat the food well, it stays hot for HOURS.
Ask Me Anything (AMA)
Here’s your opportunity to ask me anything you like related to combi steam cooking!
I encourage you to submit questions, and do my best to answer as many as possible. I cannot always get to every single question, but I curate ones which are relevant and represent a variety of topics. We all learn from each other, and I often learn new things based on questions from all of you!
If you have an AMA question, please email it to [email protected]. Make sure you include the phrase INSIDERS AMA in the subject line so I can collate and read all your submissions.
