Long-Cooked Broccoli

Broccoli+garlic+umami works superbly. Vegan anchovy subst: fermented bean paste, soy sauce (reduce salt). Some tips: * Broccoli leaves taste fine. * For step 2, saute veg. with umami source+oil. For regular (vs large-head) broccoli, cut stems into coins, saute them (+chopped leaves) before florets, which cook fast. * Add water only at Step 3 (1/2 cup, not 2). Pan-steaming (vs boiling) preserves some texture, as in Chinese recipes. * Garlic lovers: add *minced* garlic(+lemon) at step 4 (not 2).

Does the broccoli retain the same nutritional value when cooked this way?

I Use a very simple way to cook broccoli and pasta. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil throw in the macaroni (I use penne) and small chunks of broccoli and cook until the pasta is done. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta and broccoli.Put the pot back on the heat, add olive oil, red pepper flakes and finely chopped garlic, heat oil and garlic for 30 seconds add back the pasta and broccoli. Stir and more olive oil, salt and pepper and cooking water if needed.

RE: Nutritional value - probably not. Overcooking brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower) breaks down the sulfur-containing (and cancer-protective) glucosinolates. The resulting unpleasant odor is countered by garlic (+ kitchen exhaust), but next-day leftovers won't be appetizing. For every veggie, there's an optimum degree of cooking and texture. IMHO Chinese stir-fry and/or steaming preserves texture best, apart from being the fastest (15-20 min instead of 50).

I have Alice Waters’ recipe and it is different in ways that may be setting you back with the NYT recipe. 1 1/2 pounds broccoli,6 TBL olive oil,6 garlic cloves sliced,Juice of an *Entire* lemon,Pinch of chili flakes, salt She heats the oil on *medium* heat first, THEN she adds the garlic, broccoli, salt, and chili flakes. She leaves it on *medium* and cooks and stirs it for a few minutes. Then she adds a cup of water, puts a tight lid on and lowers the heat to *Barely Simmering* for an hour.

Thank you for this note. I just tried this and while the flavor is amazing mine was soggy. Will definitely try again with less water

I am sorry to say this recipe was a big "Meh". Many years ago I was taught to make Broccoli Pasta by an older Italian woman. Basically the same recipe, but no water. The water in this case served to boil the broccoli and render it soggy and flavorless, which the recipe attempts to adjust by adding anchovy and lemon at the end. The basic recipe cuts the broccoli into 1" pieces, adds red pepper flakes, garlic and salt and cooks the mix in a generous amount of olive oil until tender. Add to pasta.

I've been doing something similar with cauliflower for years. Trim the bottom and stand it up in a nice heavy dutch oven - with a bit of water - top on - and simmer so gently for 45 minutes or so. It should be very soft but whole. Remove to a baking tray - salt, pepper - rub with olive oil - drizzle with parm - and run under the broiler for a few minutes. Dress with lemon juice. Beautiful. Delicious. Simple.

I hate almost raw broccoli. It has always felt like sticking a doll head on my tongue! Two thumbs up for this delicious recipe. The trick is to let the water evaporate at the end.

Do not underestimate the power of cooked broccoli especially with anchovies and lemon … and parm. A classic Italian comfort food . Add pasta and mush up the broccoli with a bit of pasta water and game on!!Bon Appetito!

I have cooked all kinds of vegetables this way for over 25 years, with much less oil ( at least 1/2 less) and a little less time, depending on the vegetable. With great success and intense flavor. As I was told and read, perhaps in one of Marcella Hazan’s cookbooks, this the basic Italian method of cooking vegetables. Try this with fennel in butter or olive oil. Yum. Made artichokes this way yesterday; after the vege is cooked, it is is suffused with olive oil.

There’s a recipe for Italian-style long cooked broccoli in Nancy Silverton’s “Sandwich Book” (2002, pages 22-23) and it is delicious. No water added, just 1/2 cup olive for two heads (total ~1 1/2 lbs) of broccoli, 4 garlic cloves, 1 small onion, 1 chile, salt. Slow cook 2 hours. Use in an open-face sandwich topped with soft-scrambled eggs and feta. I’ve been making this for years and it’s always wonderful

I was just wondering the same thing!

One of our favorite quick suppers is pasta with broccoli. I do a steam/sauté of the broccoli, along with garlic and hot pepper flakes. I use evoo and a bit of water and add more water as necessary. By the time the pasta is cooked the broccoli is ready too. Toss it all together, add a bit of cooking water, some parm, and it’s good to go. My five year old grandson thinks we should have it every night!!

Quite disappointed. Broccoli turned light green and was way over cooked. I cooked it exactly to the recipe as I always do the first time around and had about a full cup of water left over….which of course is where all the nutrients were. All I was left with was mushy, oily side dish. Definitely will NOT make again.