My Opinion on Broccoli

by Max Maclaren

Purchasing:
Buy Broccoli at the grocery store. Dumpster Broccoli tends to be rotten and stealing it from a farm is wrong. I suggest going to your local purveyor of expensive organic goods, since broccoli will not cost much more there, but will kept in a misted environment and more varieties will be available. Do not pay attention to which type is organic or local or hydroponic or whatever. Just buy the kind with the darkest, most consistent floret.

Broccoli has two edible parts (the floret and the stalk), which should be treated as separate entities. I feel that stalks are fairly consistent and take on a background task in foods, so broccoli should be selected for the floret. You should note that there are other types of broccoli out there, and if you run across such as romanesco broccoli  you should take advantage of the superior texture and mathematically pleasing florets. Sicilian Purple broccoli bears more resemblance to cauliflower than other broccolis, and like broccolini, is not the subject of today’s rant.

Cooking:
The florets are the most flavorful part, and there is only one thing to be done. Blanch them. Cut them all off the stalk (I like a birds beak paring knife for this task) and put the stalks aside for later (they will keep for a week or two in your crisper drawer if bagged and dry). Boil some water with a few tablespoons of kosher salt, and dunk the florets in until they darken in color. A minute or two should be plenty, do not overcook them at all. Take them out and strain them, you can serve them alone, or in a salad (broccoli florets pair nicely with fresh mozzarella). Due to their high surface area, they will not retain heat well, so if you wish to serve them hot, add them as the final ingredient to a sauce, so that liquid or emulsion can keep their heat even with other items on the plate. Alfredo comes to mind, but stir fry with teriyaki or the inside of a twice baked potato is a good place to keep them warm.

The stalks can be treated like a root vegetable or asparagus. Peel them with a potato peeler and cut the bottom ends off, and they will make a nice addition to any dish you would put asparagus into. Even just fry them in oil with garlic and salt like potato fries to make “broccoli fries”.

Overall Opinion:

I like broccoli. It is a good vegetable.