How to use a convection oven for a known recipe for a traditional oven:
- Time and temperature:
- Bake the same amount of time but reduce the temperature 25 degrees (important for baked goods, so the outside doesn’t cook too fast.)
- Or, bake at the same temperature as before but reduce the cooking time by 20% – 30%. (This works best for small pieces of meat.)
- Or, bake for a slightly shorter period of time and a slightly reduced temperature.
- For meat, be careful to check the center to see if the meat is cooked through. (convection ovens brown the meat earlier than a conventional oven, so you can’t determine the inner temperature just by looking at the meat as it cooks.)
- Pans:
- For best browning, use pans with low sides and rimless cookie sheets so the air can flow freely.
- Air circulation is important:
- Don’t cover racks with foil.
- Allow 1 to 1 1/2 inches around all sides of your cooking containers.
Cooking with Steam
Advantages:
- Food will be moist and tender.
- Cooked food will be healthier since cooking with steam preserves the vitamins and minerals.
- Food can be cooked with less (or no) fat
- Food can be reheated without changing the moisture content, texture, and flavors
- Vegetables retain their natural flavors
- Food doesn’t dry out.
- You can cook fish without turning it.
Grains:
Rice, lentils, quinoa, barley, and small pasta (orzo, etc.) can be cooked using Steam or Super Steam. Place the grain or rice and any seasonings in a casserole dish. Use roughly the same amount of water as you would use if cooking in a saucepan. Use the same amount of time as if cooking on the stovetop.
White Rice:
- Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup rice
- 1 1/2 cup + 3 Tbsp water
- optional: 1/8 tsp Mrs Dash Original Seasoning, 1/8 Tsp dried chopped parsley, and/or 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter.
- Directions:
- Stir all ingredients together in a 1.5 qt oven-safe casserole dish. Cover.
- Cook on on the lowest rack on Super Steam for 30 minutes at 300 degrees.
- Let the rice sit covered for 10 minutes before serving.
Fish:
- Steam fish in a casserole dish with a little water (or white wine) and seasoning. For a tender fish such as tilapia, steam at 190 degrees so the fish won’t fall apart.
Potatoes:
- Steam for 25-35 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes.
Potatoes and Fish Bake:
Ingredients:
- 3 medium potatoes, cut into slices
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 large tomato, slice
- 3/4 lb – 1 lb white fish filet
- Mrs Dash Original Seasoning blend
- Parsley, chopped
- 2 Tbsp olive oil.
Directions:
- Steam the potatoes at 210 degrees for about 20 minutes.
- Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Place the cooked potato slices in the dish in layers.
- Place the tomato slices on top of the potatoes, and top with the fish filets.
- Sprinkle with Mrs Dash Original Seasoning and parsley
- Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil.
- Bake (steam, convection) at 275 degrees for 14-20 minutes.
