Unlike its cousins, cauliflower and cabbage, broccoli isn’t relaxed, being cooked for a long time with mild-mannered elements. All my past attempts at being clever and creating the broccoli equivalent of cauliflower cheese, for instance, had been fiascos: the creamy sauce cannot preserve its own in opposition to the dominant vegetable, which goes grey, soggy, and miserable-searching. Instead, cross for high-impact cooking (grilling, charring, frying), and pair broccoli with something punchy, bold, and umami-rich, including soy sauce, anchovy, mushrooms, infused oils, and vinegar. All can match the wild spirit of broccoli and assist in displaying it in all its glory.
Fried broccoli florets and pickled stems (pictured above)
The fried broccoli florets, tossed in sweetened soy, may additionally remind you of sure Chinese dishes. Here, I’ve combined them with quick-pickled broccoli stems, so their richness is balanced through light acidity. Double this quantity to serve this as a most important vegan direction with sticky rice.
Prep 10 min
Salting 1 hr
Cook 25 min
Serves four as an aspect
700g broccoli (i.e., two heads), cut into bite-sized florets and a couple of stems
Salt
three tbsp apple cider vinegar
½ crimson chili, thinly sliced
35ml mild soy sauce
2 tsp caster sugar
500ml sunflower oil
5g basil leaves, roughly torn
⅓ tsp cumin seeds toasted and more or less crushed in a mortar
Trim the two broccoli stems so they’re roughly rectangular – they don’t need to be perfect. Shave the stems lengthways into thin strips, using a mandoline, preferably. Stacking a few stripes on a pinnacle of each different time, cut into first-rate julienne sticks, then install a bowl, add 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, toss to mix, and depart to take a seat for an hour. Squeeze out a number of the salty liquid along with your hands, then switch the salted broccoli to a clean bowl, toss with tablespoons of the vinegar and the chili, and depart to pickle at the same time as you get on with the rest of the dish.
Put the soy sauce, sugar, and the last tablespoon of vinegar in a small saucepan with medium-excessive warmth. Bring to a boil, flip to a simmer for 2 minutes, then take off the heat – the sauce will thicken as it cools.
Put the sunflower oil in a medium saucepan on medium-excessive heat. Once it’s hot, fry the broccoli florets a handful at a time until softened and golden in locations, approximately 45 seconds a batch (and six sets in all). Ensure the oil comes lower back up to temperature earlier than including every new collection. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried broccoli to a tray coated with absorbent paper, then move to a large bowl and toss within the soy sauce mixture.
To serve, unfold half the pickled broccoli on a large, spherical plate and set the fried broccoli on top. Top with the final pickle, basil, and cumin, and serve.
Orecchiette with broccoli and rocket
This is a tackle, a classic Puglian dish traditionally made with broccoli rabe (or time di rape). The idea is that the pasta and broccoli prepare dinner together, with the broccoli finally slightly melding into the sauce. Omit the anchovies and use vegetarian parmesan to make this vegetarian.
Prep 20 min
Cook 40 min
Serves four
100ml olive oil
Six garlic cloves, peeled, five finely sliced, and one crushed
Two salted anchovies, more or less chopped
Two heads of broccoli, broken into 2cm florets (save the stalks for another use), 500g net weight
One lemon, zest finely grated to get 2 tsp, then juiced, to get 1 tbsp
Salt and black pepper
500ml vegetable stock
100ml white wine
30g unsalted butter
250g dried orecchiette
30g parmesan, finely grated
20g basil leaves, finely chopped
20g parsley, finely chopped
25g rocket, finely chopped
½ tsp Aleppo chili (or ¼ tsp flaked chili)
Heat 70ml of the oil in a vast saute pan which you have a lid on a medium flame, then gently fry the sliced garlic for about five mins, stirring regularly, till golden and aromatic. Add the anchovies, broccoli, half the lemon zest, half a teaspoon of salt, and lots of pepper, and prepare dinner, stirring regularly, for four mins. Add the inventory, wine, butter, and 300ml water, carry to a simmer, and prepare dinner for five minutes more, or until the broccoli starts to soften, then stir within the pasta 1/2 the parmesan and a teaspoon of salt. Turn down the warmth to medium, cover the pan, and depart to cook for 12-15 mins, till the pasta is al dente and the broccoli is tender and breaking into the sauce.
Integrate the herbs, rocket, beaten garlic, and the remaining teaspoon of lemon zest in a small bowl, then stir into the pasta. Scatter over the last 15g parmesan, drizzle the closing tablespoons of oil on the pinnacle, and end with the lemon juice and Aleppo chili.
Purple sprouting broccoli with mushroom ketchup
This mushroom ketchup is impossible to resist and is lovable spread on toast for breakfast, so by using all methods, double the portions and keep the extra in a sealed jar inside the refrigerator for as much as a week.
