She's choppin' broccoli...

February 1, 2007 1:50 PM

I am about to receive a huge crate of broccoli. Please send me your best vegetarian broccoli recipes! (Preferably those that use a lot of broccoli, not like a stir-fry, for example.)
posted by rmless to food & drink (30 answers total)

How I envy you. Broccoli is the best food ever.

My favorite way to cook it is very simple: Cut up florets into pretty big pieces (with quite a bit of stalk; an inch or so), and slice the remaining stalk quite thin (1/4" or so) so it cooks as fast as the florets (or leave out if you want). Cook in boiling water for 1 minute (no more!); drain and run cold water over them to stop the cooking.

In a frying pan, melt some butter and heat up some olive oil with a couple smashed garlic cloves and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium-high until just fragrant (~15 seconds), then add broccoli. Cook for a minute or so and serve hot. Optional: serve with grated parmesan cheese and/or with pasta.

It's really just like an Italian stir fry (so, maybe it doesn't qualify based on your criterion?), but it's quite fantastic and a great way to use good veggies.
posted by rossination at 1:57 PM on February 1, 2007

I don't have the exact recipe handy, but we used to make a VERY tasty polenta dish that relied on broccoli and mushrooms as the main components. It was a sort of casserole, with dried mushrooms soaked, the water used in the polenta, and broccoli and the mushrooms themselves added, baked until set, and enjoyed.

Sorry I can't point at a recipe!
posted by griffey at 1:57 PM on February 1, 2007

How much in a crate?

I don't have a recipe in front of me, but a good and proper broccoli cheddar soup uses a ton of broccoli (at least two bunches) and freezes up nicely.

I love broccoli. I love it so much. Broccoli roasted under a broiler until the tips of the florets just start to brown is one of my favorite foods. add olive oil, salt, pepper, and maybe a little garlic powder, and I could easily eat three whole crowns in one sitting if I had that much broccoli about.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 2:01 PM on February 1, 2007

I like to put it in fetuccine alfredo. I dont' make my own sauce, though. I use a jar, so I'm not sure if it's a "recipe".
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 2:02 PM on February 1, 2007

A soup I love. Play with seasoning. I've found commercial broccoli and garden broccoli have different cooking times.

broccoli (chopped into small pieces, 4 cups)
onion (1)
garlic (2-10 cloves)
chicken stock (1 quart)
1/2 - 1 cup of orzo (or similar small pasta, homemade is best cooks quicker, precook if using packaged)
Chop a mess of broccoli.
Chop an onion and lots of garlic.
Sautee onion and garlic in some olive oil. Add Broccoli and cook for 5 or 6 minutes, stirring. Add stock and cook until broccoli is tender. Remove about 1 cup of broccoli. Blend the remainder. Pour back into pot. Add orzo and remaining broccoli and cook until done.
Serve with grated romano cheese.
posted by Seamus at 2:02 PM on February 1, 2007 [2 favorites]

soup!

boil or blanch a load of broccoli. add it to a large pot that already has some sauteed veggies (garlic, onion, celery, carrots, fennel, potatoes). add some veggie stock and let it all simmer till it's delicious. blend it all up with a hand blender (if you have one), add some milk or cream if desired.
posted by gnutron at 2:03 PM on February 1, 2007

You have to make super easy and super delish Broccoli Slaw. This is enough to fill a medium sized storage bowl, and you can double or triple or whatever the recipe easily. This is vegan using vegannaise, vegetarian using mayo.

Broccoli Slaw

dressing:
3/4 cup mayo or vegannaise
quarter cup sugar
2-3 tsps white wine vinegar

veggies:
one head broccoli, chopped into tiny pieces
handful of raisins
one carrot, minced into tiny pieces
a quarter cup chopped onion (optional)

Mix the first three ingredients together until the sugar blends and melts, to make the dressing, and then toss the broc, raisins and carrots (and optional onions) together. Toss it with the dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. It's great eaten right away, and is even better a day or two afterwards.

Another super treat is simple deep-fried bread broccoli. Just take the florets and bread them however you like, deep fry until golden, and dip in some kind of marinara sauce. Freaking delicious.
posted by iconomy at 2:04 PM on February 1, 2007

mmm....i may have to try that soup recipe..
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 2:05 PM on February 1, 2007

Two offerings.

1. Cover a cookie sheet with the florets (reserve the stems for the next recipe), sliced into equal diameter. Drizzle with olive oil and salt. Roast in a 400F oven for 20 minutes. Dress with a little lemon.

2. Trim, then peel, then chop the stems. Simmer in salted water with olive and oil, a peeled head of garlic, and a bouquet-garni of thyme for 5-6 hours. Remove thyme and puree with stick blender. Add a few chopped florets of broccoli (you've got a whole crate of it, right? presumably you haven't already roasted all of it) and resume simmering until the new broccoli just changes color. Balance with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
posted by goetter at 2:07 PM on February 1, 2007

Oops. s/olive and oil/olive oil
posted by goetter at 2:08 PM on February 1, 2007

Nthing the soup. I have unfortunately lost my awesome recipe for broccoli and blue cheese soup, but perhaps you can find or concoct something along those lines.
posted by Joh at 2:15 PM on February 1, 2007

My broccoli arrabiata, which has been making the rounds at MetaChat.
posted by occhiblu at 2:20 PM on February 1, 2007 [2 favorites]

This was originally a recipe for Hot Pepper Green Beans but I make it with broccoli or asparagus too. Have some eggrolls or steam buns with it and you have a meal.

Hot Pepper Broccoli

1 pound broccoli, cut into florets
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 fresh chiles, seeded and finely chopped (I use serrano chilis)
1 tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon sugar or a liquid sweetener
2-3 tablespoons mirin
3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil

Steam broccoli for 2-3 minutes. Set aside. It should still be crisp.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, green onions, chiles, and fermented black beans. In another small bowl combine the vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and mirin.

Heat the oil in a wok, add the black bean mixture, and stir-fry for a minute. Add the broccoli and stir-fry for about 5 minutes. Mix in the rice vinegar mixture and continue to stir-fry just until the beans are coated. Serve at once.

Serves 4-6
posted by found dog one eye at 2:22 PM on February 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

This baked penne with broccoli and three cheeses uses a good whack of the stuff. It's quite tasty; vaguely lasagna-esque.

And: marinate it in a vinaigrette with other raw veg -- cauliflower, carrot, red pepper. I think the basic concept is Italian. Sort of.
posted by kmennie at 2:27 PM on February 1, 2007

Vegetable stew?

3 1/4 c veggie broth
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 medium potatoes, cut into chunks or slices
2 cans of hominy
2 c broccoli
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 c peeled butternut squash, cut into chunks
2 roasted red peppers (1 7 oz jar, rinsed and drained), torn up
2 ts dried basil, crushed
1 ts dried oregano, crushed
2 ts (ground) cumin
3/4 ts salt
1/2 - 3/4 ts black pepper

Heat garlic and onion in 1/4 c of broth in a large pot or Dutch oven until onion starts to become clear. Add everything else. Reduce heat. cover, simmer until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally. The pot ends up very, very full, so stir carefully.

The recipe calls for broccoli florets, but you should be able to more than that if you want. Obviously, you can be quite flexible with the amount of veggies to go in. I hate onions and cooked carrots, so I increase other stuff (garlic and squash) and leave those out. Come to think of it, I often throw in frozen peas.

This can be halved, but even when it is it feeds two people for at least two days, so I'm not sure how fast you'd actually get through the broccoli if you try this!
posted by dilettante at 2:32 PM on February 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

Sorry for the inexactness, as this is from memory. I don't even know what it's really called, but I always refer to it as "scalloped broccoli" since the recipe is somewhat similar to scalloped potatoes.

Steam the broccoli to just before your preferred texture (enough to fill a 9x13 glass baking dish). Keep the steaming water.

Mix 1/2 cup of cold milk with about 1 Tablespoon of flour and whisk to make a slurry. NOW add about 1/2 cup of the steaming water (you can toss the remaining water).

Add a few TBS of chopped onion or scallions to the milk mixture, and cook over med-high heat until bubbly. Add some shredded sharp cheddar and stir until blended.

Pour milk/cheese mixture over broccoli. Shred some parmesan and sprinkle over the top. Sprinkle good paprika over the whole thing and broil until the parm is golden & bubbly.

YUM. P.S. Also delicious with cauliflower, or a mix of the two, which is what I usually do.
posted by peep at 2:33 PM on February 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

This list of broccoli recipes from my CSA might also be helpful. Their recipes always seem to turn out well, and highlight the ingredients nicely. This vegetable dip, while it looks odd, was fantastic, though it might be hard to get summer squash this time of year.
posted by occhiblu at 2:33 PM on February 1, 2007

I don't have a recipe to add, but just wanted to say what a very awesome title this has.
posted by artifarce at 2:58 PM on February 1, 2007

my husband's favorite recipe is soooo easy to make, and it's only broccoli (so a side dish)

you need:

12 (or more) whole, un-chopped, peeled cloves of garlic
however much broccoli florets (1 or 2 or 3 heads)
turmeric
oil
salt

1. put 1-ish TB of oil in pan with garlic cloves
2. allow garlic to become golden
3. put 1/2 TB-3/4 TB of turmeric in pan (sprinkle over garlic)
4. Add broccoli florets, but don't mix
5. Let broccoli sit for 1 minute
6. During that 1 minute, sprinkle liberally with salt
7. Turn broccoli over and cover pan.
8. Cook for 8-12 minutes, or desired consistency.

We like it just a little burned (sounds crazy, but deeeelicious) so we don't stir during the 8-12 minutes time, but I'd assume that mixing once in awhile would prevent that!

This works for cauliflower too!
posted by lil' ears at 3:30 PM on February 1, 2007

Oh perfect!
Just the other night I had a kitchen experiment that went both horribly wrong and horribly right!

I oversteamed the broccoli then placed it in a pot with garlic, ginger and a touch of sesame oil. I wasn't paying attention while stirring and wound up turning the broccoli to mush.

It was one of the tastiest things I've eaten in a long time! I call it Broccoli Destruction.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 3:33 PM on February 1, 2007

Hope this hasn't been said yet (don't have time to read the whole thread), but I like to chop broccoli and mushrooms up, add a binder and some bread crumbs and make veggie burgers.
posted by terrapin at 3:35 PM on February 1, 2007

I will occasionally eat it raw with this easy and awesome dip. Combine soy sauce and hot sesame oil to taste. Add some water to cut down the saltiness. Dip and enjoy!
posted by chairface at 3:39 PM on February 1, 2007

Garlic and lemon juice. Nothing more needed.
posted by nebulawindphone at 4:55 PM on February 1, 2007

Fresh broccoli, how yummy. You could make one of my favorite simple dishes substituting your own fresh ingredients. I usually make it using 1 bag of frozen broccoli florets and 1 bag of frozen cauliflower florets. I cook them on the stove with 1 can of vegetable broth (substitute with water if you prefer, or 1 can of coconut milk for extra yum).

Add a can or two of garbanzo beans. When most of the liquid is gone, start mixing in chili powder to taste (I have found 2-3 packets of left-over crushed chili powder packets from pizza takeout to work well). When the beans are slightly browned, it's time to turn off the heat and start mixing in 3/4 cup of feta cheese (or goat cheese) and serve with rice or bread. (I have substituted ground soy sausage for chick peas too - if the sausage is seasoned, it works out better with no chili powder.) Like almost any florets-focused recipe, this one tends to go over well even with kids who otherwise dislike broccoli & cauliflower.
posted by PY at 5:13 PM on February 1, 2007

You can make a huge batch of broccoli cheese soup in 20 minutes that freezes well for later eating.

Saute an onion in plenty of butter on medium heat, and some garlic, too, if you like. Toss in a tablespoon or two of flour and let it cook while stirring for a minute or two. Add 6-8 cups of vegetable stock, a crapload of chopped broccoli and bring to a boil, cook for 8-10 minutes (no need to overcook the broc, just get it soft). At that point I let it cool a bit and then pour in batches into a blender to smooth it out, but if you have one of those hand blender things, use that. Then back in the pot with a few cups of milk or half-and-half until it's the thickness I like, heat thoroughly for 5-10 minutes but DO NOT let boil, then add a cup or three of sharp cheddar and heat until blended - again, DO NOT let the soup boil after adding the milk and cheese. Toss in some salt and fresh ground pepper in the last two minutes, and voila! Excellent broccoli cheese soup.

Measurements are deliberately vague, adjust to suit your desired level of creaminess, thickness, cheesiness, etc. But the basic idea is pretty easy to understand. Experiment with other veggies and spices, like cayenne or nutmeg, or leeks instead of onions, etc.
posted by mediareport at 9:16 PM on February 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

California Broccoli Salad

1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
4 cups raw broccoli broken into small flowerets
6 slices crisply cooked bacon, crumbled (or equivalent amount of vegetarian bacon bits)
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen peas
1 cup roasted sunflower seed kernels
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp white vinegar
1/3 cup sugar

Combine dressing ingredients and blend well to dissolve the sugar. Lightly toss everything else together, then add dressing and toss till coated. Very tasty and filling!
posted by doplgangr at 9:33 PM on February 1, 2007

I also love fresh broccoli. I dip it fresh (or very slightly steamed) in either Garlic Chili Oil or GoChuJang - a spicy and sweet Korean sauce that, I feel, was made for broccoli. Both are available in your local Asian grocery story.
posted by shokod at 4:04 AM on February 2, 2007

Yum! To use the broccoli stems, peel and then juilienne them. Julienne some carrots + chop a bunch of scallions. The, saute a small amount of ground pork in a pan until cooked. Add chili sauce/sriracha, fish sauce, tons of lime juice, and a splash of white wine. Let cool slightly and mix with the veg. It's Thai salad! And just gets better over a coupld of days. I mix up the veg too-- sometimes add mushrooms, or whatever seems compatible. I used to never eat the broccoli stems but this is super yummy.
posted by miss tea at 5:08 AM on February 2, 2007 [1 favorite]

PS- Add rice noodles for a more filling meal.
posted by miss tea at 5:09 AM on February 2, 2007

Thanks for all the suggestions! I look forward to trying out many of your recipes this weekend.
posted by rmless at 10:45 AM on February 2, 2007