When the weather gets warm and I cannot bring myself roast vegetables because of how hot our oven makes our house, this is our answer to kid and adult friendly veggies. This is broccoli two (easy) ways. It's magic because you can pull out some "plain" broccoli to keep your picky eaters happy, and then proceed to add garlic and lemon for the slightly more adventurous at the table.
I don't even know if this counts as a recipe, but it's my best way of making sure everyone eats tons of broccili. An extra bonus is that cooking it this way means that your broccoli will retain its vibrant color and not turn dull even if it has to rest while you cook the rest of your meal.
An (Un)important Note about CHOPPIN' BROCCOLI: In our house you must sing Dana Carvey's SNL song "Choppin' Broccoli". It's the only authentic way to make this dish.
A Useful Note about Chopping Broccoli: My kids love the florets, but if you cut any dried parts off the stems, and then cut off the outer 1/8 of an inch or the stalks, (some people use a vegetable peeler, but I prefer to just use a knife) the inner part of the stalk is sweet and delicious too.
Broccoli for Picky AND Adventurous Eaters
Time: 10 minutes. Serves 6
Ingredients
1-1.5 pounds broccoli (or 2 medium sized crowns)
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/8-1/4 teaspoon sea salt
zest from half a lemon
fresh pepper
STEP ONE
Chop your broccoli florets and your peeled and trimmed stems into pieces that are slightly bigger than bite size. Add 1/2 cup of water and 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of salt to your widest frying pan that has a lid. Add your broccili to the pan, turn on the heat to medium high and cover. Cook for about 3 minutes with the lid on. Then stir and check broccoli to see if it's done. Cook for about 1-3 more minutes until you reach desired level of donness.
STEP TWO
CAREFULLY use the lid of your pan to strain any remaining water out from the broccili pan. Please use oven mitts and watch out for steam! It's important that you hold the lid on tight so you don't lose your broccoli in the sink. (If you really cannot master this technique you can pour the broccoli into a strainer and then return it to the pan). See photo of lid-technique here:
STEP THREE
After straining out water, broccoli should all be on one side of the pan. Return pan to burner with broccoli pushed against the side of the pan. Use a spoon to remove any broccoli that needs to be kept plain and set aside. Then add butter or oil to the side of the pan without broccoli and center flame under this portion of your pan. Once butter to begins to sizzle add minced garlic and allow to cook for a few seconds before folding the broccoli into the butter/oil.
Sprinkle lemon peel on top, and add a few grinds of fresh pepper, taste for seasoning, and stir for about a minute to let things come together. Serve broccoli warm or set aside and serve at room temperature.
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