Varoma! There...I said it. It's not scary!!
So why do I hear of so many owners not using their Varoma? Get it OUT of the cupboard (God forbid, the box!) and plan to use it at least twice a week.
I am hoping some of these suggestions below might make you think outside the square a little when it comes to using your Varoma. Its not just for chicken, fish and vegies.
For the newbies... a general rule of thumb is 1/2L of liquid steams for 1/2 hr.
If you need more info do contact your consultant, they are always happy to help!
Steaming in foil parcels
This had 2 salmon steaks in, underneath were my veggies and rice steaming steaming in the basket with coconut cream, garlic and spring onions.
This had 2 salmon steaks in, underneath were my veggies and rice steaming steaming in the basket with coconut cream, garlic and spring onions.
Chicken thigh fillets stuffed with spring onion and sundried tomato and seasoned
These steam above my potatoes in the basket, some broccoli in the bottom of the varoma. I mash the potato after steaming them with some of the liquid. Steam with veggie stock.
Cheat's 'Fried Eggs'
I love cooking my eggs like this now. No fat and no cleaning up! Just wet some baking paper and line the top of the varoma. Easy to do omelettes and scrambled eggs this way too. You can even put your egg rings on top if you want nice round ones.
Layered Cooking
The below three photos show you how to layer in your Varoma and TM bowl and cook
more than one thing at a time.
Water with Chicken Stock
Greens steaming in the top tray
Seasoned Chicken Thigh pieces in the bottom half of the Varoma
Potatoes in the basket
Easy Peasy Garlic & Soy Chicken and Rice
Make marinade for steamed chicken and rice in the TM bowl, then put in diced chicken on reverse speed 1 for 5 seconds to coat in the marinade. Then entire TM bowl goes in the fridge until dinner time to let the chicken marinate. When ready to cook, drop the chicken into the Varoma, leave the bowl UNWASHED and fill up to 500g of water and use this flavoured water to cook rice and chicken at the same time.
Extra flavour and NO WASHING UP!
All done! Super easy and tastiest rice ever!!
Reheating leftovers
Reheating the above meal the next day...don't use your microwave, they dry things out and toughen up your meat. Use your Varoma steam to reheat
Or reheat inside the Varoma in a glass dish
Chicken & Chorizo Sausages
Make the mince, shape into sausages and steam them in the Varoma. Have some veggies or potatoes cooking in the basket at the same time for a quick all in one meal.
Mini Quiches without the Oven
These were mixed in the TM bowl, then spooned into this Tuppware silicon mould that perfectly fits the Varoma, and steamed. So quick and easy, and no hot oven on...great for hot weather
Steamed Brie Cheese with Basil Pesto Dressing
Words fail me. You simply must try this one
Cooking a whole chicken - the 'Healthy Roast Chicken'
You absolutely MUST try this, the chicken is so moist and tender, and keep the liquid at the end to use as a stock. I squeeze a 1.8-2kg chicken in there, sometimes bigger. If it doesn't fit I just weight the lid down with my dinner plates....instant plate warmer!
I will be posting more Varoma tips and recipes over the coming weeks. Stay tuned!!
If you want to ask a question, find me on my Facebook page
What an absolutely fantastic post. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. I'll be passing this on to my customers with a link to your blog so they can wander wild and free throughout.
ReplyDelete(That marinated chook looks good... might try that tonight...)
Thank you! Yes it does take time to write and photograph these things :)
DeleteThese are interesting ideas, but I think they would be more useful with a bit more detail on some of them, especially for people not familiar or confident with using the varoma, i.e. how much water you are using, and how long to steam for, approximately (as in the first few suggestions, and those without recipes), and what speed etc.
ReplyDeleteAndrea :)
Thanks Andrea, I tried to keep it broad moreso for ideas on how to use the varoma differently, rather than recipes. But your consultant will be more than happy to chat you through that stuff if you are still learning. Won't be long before you do it without even thinking ;)
Deleteooh some awesome idea's there that I will be definitely trying out!
ReplyDeleteThe 'fried' eggs are a huge favourite in my house.
Same as Andrea, I would like to know times & speeds, thats the part Im not overally confident with when using the Varoma. Time to book a Veroma demo with my consultant I think !
Book that demo! For sure!
DeleteI'm glad you posted this, because majority of what I cook is protein and veg and when I had a thermomix demo, I got the impression it was mostly sweets and fat cheesey sauces that it made. So I thought I won't bother getting one, as it would hardly get used.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Michelle...hopefully it makes you look at things a bit differently. Nat
DeleteGreat ideas here! I use my Varoma all the time but I'll certainly be using it even more now! Love the chicken sausages idea :) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis post is a gem! Even though I would use my Varoma regularly, I never thought of doing a whole chicken or cook quiches in it! Just to show that Thermomix really is a most versatile appliance! I'm bookmarking this post straight away!
ReplyDeleteAs a newbie thank you so much for this post, it is amazing and the time and effort that you have put into it is something again. It is inspiring and amazing. I am enjoying my thermomix so much and this is taking it to a whole new level.
ReplyDeleteSara
awesome!! still a newbie, these were great tips!
ReplyDeleteOk, you've inspired me to dig the varoma out of the cupboard and put it to use, I think I've only use it about 4 times and my TM is about 7 years old!
ReplyDeleteHow long does you steam frozen packaged spring rolls or gyozas in varoma and how long and what speed ?
ReplyDeleteI think some people get this 'blockage' because it's a very different way of Cooking. Truly folks don't leave your Varoma on the bench, experiment and don't be too annoyed with failures because this is how we truly learn. Thanks Nat! Excellent post xx
ReplyDeleteI think some people get this 'blockage' because it's a very different way of Cooking. Truly folks don't leave your Varoma on the bench, experiment and don't be too annoyed with failures because this is how we truly learn. Thanks Nat! Excellent post xx
ReplyDeleteThe whole roast chicken cooked in the varoma certainly is delicious very moist and full of flavor. I weighted the lid down with a small frying pan. Dot Martin
ReplyDeleteThese "tips" are fantastic! Thank you for posting. Cant wait to try the roast chicken and the salmon wrapped in foil is a brilliant idea!
ReplyDeleteI have just purchased a TM5 and I love these ideas. It's only my daughter and I at home, so I love that you can freeze most of these recipes. Thank you
ReplyDelete