Anyone do anything spectacular with broccoli

[The empressof all]

I have a beautiful bunch from the CSA. I'm tired of the usual stir fries and soup. To make it difficult...I eat Vegan and it needs to be cooked soft...(I know yuck! :rofl:)

[Tesha]

1. Lemon Fettuccine with Broccoli and Pancetta "Croutons"

now... that sound good.

from Epicurious

[Monique1]

2. You can oven roast it

or make a cheese sauce.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. Coconut curry cheese sauce...

I'm doing this for cauliflower tonight, and it should work with broccoli.

Make a roux. I used half a stick of butter and 4 TBSP flour. (I have a lot of people to feed.)

Toss a can of evaporated milk in the roux. Let it thicken, but if much too thick, toss in some milk.

Toss in a cup or so of grated cheese (I used sharp cheddar because that's what I have a lot of, but there are better choices.)

Toss in a can of coconut milk.

Add milk as necessary to get right thickness.

Spice with curry powder, parsley, dry mustard, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, cayenne, anxd anything else that sounds good. All to taste.

When serving, sprinkle paprika over it for show.

No cheese? Use canned or fresh pumpkin glop instead-- pumpkin sauce can be fantastic.

[Denninmi]

4. Not healthy, but ...

... I've actually batter dipped, deep fried, and served broccoli and other vegetables with a sesame barbecue sauce of the kind used in Chinese restaurants to make "Sesame Chicken" -- when I did this, I actually used mixed vegetables -- broccoli and cauliflower florets, red and yellow pepper strips, and strips of summer squash cut about the same size as the pepper strips, and also pineapple chunks are really nice in this mix. Use a very light, tempura type batter, and a neutral flavored oil for frying.

The vegetables actually cook to a moderately cooked consistency this way, but if you need it softer, I don't see any reason you couldn't pre-cook the broccoli by steaming it -- just make sure it's "dry" by patting it off in some paper towels -- you wouldn't want a lot of water in their to make the frying oil splash and burn.

I would serve this with the sauce, rice, and put some sesame seeds on it. Or, you could also just serve with the sauce on the side as an appetizer.

I know it might sound a little weird, but it's actually really good.

[The empressof all]

5. Oooooh I always forget about FRIED!

I just tossed it in the pressure cooker for the usual soup...But I'm gonna do a big tempura fest now sometime this week!

Yummers! Thank you.... I rarely get the fryer out....But it's Christmas! I can throw all sorts of stuff in there!

[grasswire]

6. timbales

That can be the vegetable and the side together. They're cute, and delicious.

A fritatta works, too.

And then there's that raw broccoli salad with sunflower seeds, bacon bits, red onion and raisins. I like that.

[Warpy]

7. Broccoli wine explosion

Saute ginger in a little oil, add chopped broccoli and stir fry over high heat until the color changes, add 1/4 cup or so of dry sherry and whoosh! (the explosion). Add a tablespoon of sugar and cover and simmer over low heat until it's as mushy as you want it, making sure it doesn't dry out.

The combination of wine, sugar and ginger gives the broccoli a truly remarkable flavor.

[cbayer]

15. I made this last night, using Marsala instead of Sherry, and it was delicious!

:hi:

[Warpy]

16. Glad you liked it!

It's one of my favorite ways to do broccoli.

[Lucinda]

8. I LOVE mashed cauliflower...wonder if that would work with broccoli?

Lots of possibilities with that as a base...

[pengillian101]

9. Interesting idea!

Let us know if it works out!

Broccoli soup is an idea also.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Cream-Of-Broccoli-Soup/Detail.aspx

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/down-home-with-the-neelys/broccoli-soup-recipe/index.html

[Lucinda]

10. I will. I babble about my experiements in C & B all the time!

:toast:

[GoCubsGo]

11. Steam the florets soft and....

Toss it in with pasta and your favorite vegan pesto sauce, and some toasted walnuts or pignolias. You can peel the stems, cut them up, and marinade them in your favorite Italian dressing. Marinated broccoli stems are the poor person's version of marinated artichoke hearts. :-)

[Denninmi]

12. I wish Michigan State University knew that back in the 80's.

When I went there, they forced out of town students to live in the dorms for 2 years.

In the dining hall, they served broccoli stems with cheese sauce. Not florets and stems, just stems. They grew and processed all of their own stuff as part of their agriculture and food science programs.

They fed us all kinds of cheap nasty junk -- I think prisoners in Michigan's prison system ate better, and even back then it wasn't cheap to live in the dorms by any means.

[hippywife]

13. Steam it then

eat it with salt, pepper, butter, and a wedge of lemon squeezed on it. I think that tastes pretty spectacular. :hi:

[GoCubsGo]

14. Speaking of lemons...

They're also great with a dressing of lemon juice, some olive oil, and chopped garlic. The dressing is from one of my favorite recipes, Black Bean Ful: http://www.food.com/recipe/black-bean-ful-134236

It's good on steamed vegetables, such as broccoli and asparagus, as well as raw tomatoes. Like the ful recipe, veggies with this dressing are good hot or cold. I prefer them cold/room temperature.

[hippywife]

18. That sounds really wonderful.

Bill has a problem with too much garlic, but not me. No such thing. :D

[Stinky The Clown]

17. It involves firecrackers and a clear plastic leaf and lawn bag . . . . .

:)