Really very little muss or fuss goes into making this tasty veggie side dish, especially if, as did I, you spend the extra and buy your broccoli trimmed and separated into heads (check the fresh bagged veggies in your produce section).
The recipe, from Melissa d’Arabian at Food Network, went along perfectly with our treat day dinner of beef stroganoff – one of Rich’s very favorites, but one we don’t allow ourselves too often.
INGREDIENTS
•1 head broccoli
•1/4 cup water
•1 tbsp olive oil
•1 clove garlic, minced
•1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
•1/2 tsp sea salt
•1/2 tsp black pepper
•1 tbsp Parmesan cheese
•1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
If you didn’t buy your broccoli trimmed into convenient florets, go ahead and do so now. Remember that you can stash those wood ends in a freezer bag and use them as a base to make broccoli soup at a later date.
Add the water to a large pan along with the garlic, olive oil, and the red pepper flakes.
Bring to a boil over high heat, then add the broccoli, cover, and braise for three minutes.
Turn the heat off and allow the broccoli to rest, still covered, for another couple of minutes.
Remove the cover, add the sea salt, pepper, lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese, and toss to coat.
Serve as you will.
You could, of course, add a pat of butter, but you really don’t need to.
Nice broccoli, and nicely done.
For an extra bit of fancy, go ahead and serve it with some blender hollandaise sauce.