Steamed vegetables with flavoured butters

Steaming is a great way to cook veg. It keeps in so many of the vitamins lost by boiling, and can be done in stacked steamer baskets. Best of all, though, it only takes up one ring of your cooker! 

The butters are easy to make and can be done way ahead. 

Keep any leftovers in your freezer and use a slice when you cook a steak. Don't cook all the vegetables or you'll have far too many – just pick your two favourites.

Ingredients

For the turnips

1 clove garlic, chopped

½ red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

2 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and finely chopped

60 g unsalted butter, softened

500 g baby turnips, quartered if large

For the carrots

1 pinch sugar

finely grated zest of ¼ orange

1 pinch cumin seeds

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, leaves picked

60 g unsalted butter, softened

450 g carrots, cut into thick strips

For the broccoli

½ tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

60 g unsalted butter, softened

350 g broccoli, cut into florets

Method

Make the flavoured butters. If you are making the turnips, pound the garlic, chilli and sun-dried tomatoes to a paste in a pestle and mortar. Add seasoning and the butter and pound well. Dollop onto a sheet of greaseproof paper and roll into a cylinder, twisting the ends like Christmas crackers. Place in the freezer to firm up.

For the carrots, pound the sugar, zest, cumin seeds and thyme; for the broccoli, the rosemary and anchovies; for the mangetout, mix the lemon juice and zest. Then add the seasoning and butter, pound and roll into Christmas cracker shapes, as before.

Put the veg in a 2-layer steamer. Carrots should be nearest to the heat, then baby turnips, then broccoli florets, then mangetout. Steam for 10 minutes and serve each vegetable with circles of flavoured butter melted over the top.

Nutritional Information - Amount per serving:

Calories100kcal

Carbs4.4g

Sugar3.6g

Fat8.5g

Saturates5.3g

Protein1.0g

by Jamie Oliver