As a kid, I always wondered how anyone could like broccoli. As far as I was concerned, this cruciferous vegetable’s awful smell was a self-defense mechanism against adults who wanted to eat it. That was until I discovered 2 things: tenderstem broccoli (or broccolini) and the art of not overcooking. Tenderstem is much more pleasant to look and taste – and lightly blanching/sauteeing/steaming are the only ways anyone should be cooking it in my humble opinion. I make the following recipe quite often, using the organic tenderstem that can be found at Spinneys, mixing it with snap peas (or other greens like spinach) and finishing it off with a few slabs of butter, some lemon zest and salt.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of tenderstem broccoli
- 1 cup of snap peas (I also like to use spinach, in which case I use 4 cups which I do not blanch – instead I wash, dry very well and saute it lightly in olive oil)
- 4 tbsp grass fed butter
- Pink himalayan sea salt
- 1/3 cup of toasted hazelnuts, slightly crushed/halved
- zest of half a lemon – you could also use orange for a slightly different taste
Instructions:
- Bring a pot of water to boil
- In a bowl, add the butter and some salt
- Blanch the vegetables in the water until bright green but still crunchy – 1-2 minutes usually works for me
- Drain the vegetables and throw them into the bowl, coating them well with butter
- Add the lemon zest and toss lightly
- Place on serving plate and sprinkle hazelnuts on top
