I’m trying to get more into broccoli, and steamed broccoli is just so boring, plus it seems to get cold instantly which makes it even less appealing.
I’ve never roasted broccoli, like I do my Brussels sprouts - is that recommended? I want to keep it healthy, of course, so throwing a bunch of cheese and crap on it is out.
I just cut into uniform pieces including stems, toss with a little salt and olive oil and roast it. Finish with fresh lemon and maybe some Parmesan cheese.
preheat oven to 500 degrees with 2 half sheet pans in it
Slice the broccoli thin in 1/4" slices
toss in bowl with 2-3 tbl of olive oil, kosher salt and pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
Once pans and oven are hot. Carefully toss half of broccoli on each pan and make single layer.
Roast 9-11 minutes
Similar to Tim and Suzanne, I toss the florets (without stems) with olive oil, coarse ground salt and pepper, and roast until they are crispy . The crispiest florets get eaten first in my house.
Lightly steamed broccoli with some really nice finishing salt and EVOO is about as good as it gets in my book. Warm or room temp.
Here’s a Nancy Silverton recipe for long-cooked broccoli (don’t knock it 'til you’ve tried it!):
cut broccoli into long pieces with florets attached to stems (I peel the stems); blanch for 2 min, drain, and place in ice water bath
heat a nice amount of olive oil in a pan; add some onions sliced up, a few cloves of peeled garlic, and a dried chile
remove broccoli from ice bath and add to pan; cook slowly for at least 45 min, and up to 1:30; season with S&P to taste
This prep takes broccoli to a completely different level, although you won’t want to eat it like this every time.
Note: Silverton uses this on griddled or grilled bread with scrambled eggs for open face sandwiches or bruschetta.
This sounds like it would be sooo much better with cauliflower but that might just be me. I 
crispy cauliflower
My favorite thing to do with Broccoli is from southern Italy. Steam or blanch, cook “earlobe” pasta (orecchiette) and saute some sausage chunks – kielbasa will work. Put it all together with grated parmigiano and some hot pepper flakes, and yum!!! Many recipes online.
Ironically, I’m not a huge broccoli fan either but I just got some today as part of our weekly produce box. Of all the cruciferous vegetables, it’s most likely my least favorite. Yes, roasting is really good (as others here have already covered). Also, sauteing in a hot pan is really good, but you have to do it quickly enough so you get some color on it, but it still stays crisp (overcooked is just nasty). If I saute it, I normally use olive oil, garlic, lemon zest and then add some lemon juice. I use a hot pan so add the oil and broccoli first and then add the garlic and lemon zest at the very end so they don’t burn. You can also deglaze with white wine if you get a fond. You can actually add some cooked pasta at the end and you have a dish similar to Frank mentioned. But I still steam it a lot as well, but then it’s normally a component in a bowl. (“Bowls” are a mainstay of vegan food - I can explain it if anyone doesn’t know or actually cares)
Some butter for sin factor but the key to this truly is fresh broccoli. When it is fresh it actually is sweet and a light steam really retains that. The finishing salt and butter/oil is all you need.
Also, Alton Brown made a raw broccoli salad on Good Eats that was incredible. I made it a few times and it was an enormous hit. You use a mandolin to slice it super thin and then mix with a vinaigrette, cherry tomatoes, raisins, etc.
Agreed. I’m usually in Eric’s camp with preparation, but with French butter it’s even better.
I love broccoli many ways but recently have been doing it Asian style. Get a wok (preferred) or deep frying pan very hot, add sesame oil, or mix of high smoke-point oil (grapeseed) and sesame. I use straight sesame. Add broccoli (careful of oil splatter) toss quickly to coat and cover to steam broccoli for ~1 minute. Remove lid, stir and cook a couple more minutes (depends on heat) until broccoli is bright green, tender and hopefully slightly blackened from the heat. At the very end, clear space in the center of the pan and add a few tablespoons of soy sauce along with a tablespoon of ginger paste (or fresh grated ginger) and garlic if desired. The soy sauce should quickly foam, stir the broccoli into it. Cook another thirty seconds or so, remove from heat and sprinkle with sesame seeds and red pepper flakes to taste.
What isn’t better with French butter? Everything is better with Bordier.
My wife doesn’t handle butter especially well. You guys need to spend quality time with quality olive oil.
jimmie wellman wrote:
rachel mcdonald wrote:… (overcooked is just nasty)…
Rachel, I have to comment on this. If you’re talking about overly steamed/“boiled” broccoli I certainly agree that it’s not good at all. However, the Silverton method I described produces a product nothing like this. As it’s cooked a long time in a lot of olive oil, it’s sort of confited, so the taste is completely different (admittedly, the texture is soft). Of course, you may still dislike it, but I’m saying don’t dismiss it out of hand by comparing it to school cafeteria broccoli.
Weekday easy mode cooking. Blanch brocolli in boiling water so just barely cooked. Drain and rinse in cool water (or if you want to be very proper, ice water). Make a vinaigrette with dijon mustard, aioli, shallots, pepper, vinegar, and oil.
Just never make some weird casserole with broccoli, ritz crackers and butter/margarine. ugghhh. the mother of my first girlfriend made that and it was horrendous.
Agree with this. Americans are in love with “undercooked” vegetables. Italians are not. Long cooking cruciferous vegetables is a valid approach if executed properly. There is a point where these get sulfurous, but if you continue cooking you pass that point and bring out a sweetness from them.
That being said I like to sauté in EVOO, garlic, salt, and red pepper flake. If the broccoli is in larger pieces take it off the flame after the initial couple of minutes, add an ounce of water, return it to the flame and cook until the water evaporates completely, thereby sauteing then steaming.
Todd, on many occasions, I’ve roasted broccoli (florets only usually) in the oven tossed with EVOO, coarse salt, and cracked pepper. They turn out great. I roast a lot of veggies: asparagus, Brussels sprouts, green beans, cauliflower…