Simple Uses for Broccoli

 

When you have a large crop of broccoli from the garden or farmstand, you don't have time to casually include it in complicated recipes or to frantically figure out how to use it up before it goes bad without getting sick of it.  You want to make the most of your harvest and to actually enjoy it.

Here at Plant to Plate, we like to keep things simple!  Here are some of my favorite ways to use or preserve broccoli:

• Steam it with fennel stalks and bulbs.  Fennel leaves can also be added as a seasoning after steaming.

• Steam it with garlic and onions.

• Sauté or stirfry it with carrots and onions.

• Sauté or stirfry it with garlic and onions.

• Sauté or stirfry it with chicken, arugula, and marjoram.

• Add it to other sautés and stirfry dishes.  Broccoli florets, stems, and leaves can all be added to these dishes.

• Bake it with chicken and cheddar.

• Bake, steam, or slow-cook it with chicken, bell peppers, lime juice, and either sweet chili sauce or a cayenne-based hot sauce.

• Stuff bell peppers with broccoli, cheddar, and a grain such as rice, quinoa, buckwheat, or amaranth and bake.

• Make a simple soup with broccoli, carrots, and cheddar or asiago.  This soup is delicious whether it is prepared with a chicken broth or cream base.

• Add it to other soups and broths.  Broccoli florets, stems, and leaves can all be added to soups and broths.

• Add it to pasta, alone or with coconut milk and cabbage or kale.

• Toss it with avocado, pepitas, and a grain like quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, or rice.

• Combine it with bacon and sour cream to make a simple broccoli salad.  This Midwestern dish follows a similar naming convention to chicken salad and egg salad in that it is more of a side than a salad.

• Make a Simple Salad with it, raw or cooked.  Keep in mind that you may not want to consume raw broccoli if you are sensitive to glucosinolates, which are significantly reduced by cooking.  A couple ideas for Simple Salad combinations with broccoli are as follows:
• Red onions, cheddar, and chard or beet greens.  This mixture is especially tasty with a creamy dressing like ranch or blue cheese.
• Spinach and pepitas

• Use it as a Frame in an Interesting Salad, raw or cooked.  (Wondering why I capitalized those letters?  Read more about Interesting Salads here!)

• Add it to other salads, raw or cooked.

• Freeze it.  Although not required, broccoli is best blanched before freezing.  Broccoli that is not blanched before freezing may develop a bitter taste, especially if it is eaten more than 3 months after freezing.  Learn more about blanching here.

Further Reading

Growing broccoli?  Check out these quick facts like its best growing conditions, companion plants, and expected yields.

Broccoli is also featured in these articles:

• Quick Facts: Growing Broccoli
• The Interesting Salad Protocol: How to Build an Interesting Salad

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