So there you are, at the cutting board with a brand-new head of broccoli. You cut off the stalks, then chop the florets into bite-size pieces. They’ll steam faster and more evenly if cut small.
And this way it doesn’t seem so hard for the prep. You chop up all that head into reasonable sizes. The rest goes quickly once you have the florets in hand. There is no big uneven pieces to cook at different times.
Steaming the broccoli
You chop the entire head into manageable chunks.
The broccoli fit right in the steamer basket. Place the green florets in stainless steel steamer basket. Make sure the basket is secure and you’re good to go.
Against the wire mesh, the veggies look bright and fresh. Smaller sizes is best for pressure cooking.
Time to get them steamed
Into the bottom of the inner pot, you add just one cup of water. That’s sufficient water to build pressure without making the veggies soggy. Then, on top of that you set a metal trivet. That will keep your food above the water level.
Place the trivet in the pot. Then place the steam basket atop the trivet. This allows the broccoli to hang above the water.
It’s important to steam: you want your florets away from direct contact with the water. Make sure all of this sit level. Closing the lid. Turn the handle. Lock the lid in place.
The control panel have a digital display. To start steaming, you push the Steam button. The display will show your setting choices. In this case it say Steam, High Pressure, 1 min.
You then rotate the steam release valve to the sealing position. The steam release valve must be in the sealing position in order for the pot to pressurize.
The short time and high pressure is a fair trade for the quickness. After you start building pressure (the pot beeps when this starts), just wait until the countdown is finished. At zero, you’re done.
As soon as that happens, you turn the valve to release the pressure. Because it was releasing so fast, the broccoli didn’t get to cooked. The steam blasts out through the valve as the pressure releases.
Then you wait until the float valve goes all the way down. When it does, that means you can safely open the pot.
Turn the handle on the lid to let it go. Open the lid. There’s your perfectly steamed broccoli. The florets are bright green and tender.
Pull the steamer basket up out of the pot. It’s hot and not mushy at all.
You can steam it, but the Instant Pot speed up the process. It doesn’t take long to do actualy. It is great when you are on a tight schedule.
The Instant Pot makes this process faster then boiling.