Apparently though, this is a recessive gene and everyone else likes it in my house. So, we made the Garlicky Crumb-Coated Broccoli and you know what? I still wasn't crazy about it. (you thought I was going to say I liked it after all, didn't you??)
The recipe in Around My French Table says to steam the broccoli first, then toss it with butter, garlic, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Our first alternation was to microwave the broccoli, instead of steaming it. I don't get it - if you have access to a microwave, I say go for it! There's no waiting for water to boil (and we all know how long that can take!) - no steamer basket to clean, plus pot and pan., and the nutrient loss is less than steaming.
So we microwaved.
The second alteration was the butter. I simply cannot bring myself to use 1/2 stick of butter for two stalks of broccoli. French women might not get fat, but I sure can! So I used a pat of butter (less than a TB) and olive oil.
Mixing oil and butter is a tried and true french approach to cooking (and Italian, for that matter) - it stretches the butter flavor without stretching your pants, and it raises the smoke point of the butter - so it doesn't burn as easily. No brainer.
Once the butter/oil mixture was warmed, we added minced garlic, breadcrumbs and seasoning (including lemon zest), toasted the bread crumbs and added the broccoli.
It looked great and, as I said, everyone else thought it was fantastique!
Ah - I guess not everyone can love every vegetable! At least you suffered through it for the sake of the "little people"!
ReplyDeleteFor a second, I thought you were going to say that you'd only eat broccoli rolled around in yummy breadcrumbs. Just for a second. I scaled back to three tablespoons of butter, but kind of wish I'd halved it instead.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I love the microwave too.
ReplyDeleteOh good to hear you loved broccoli cooked this way :) I didn't use butter at all, substituted with olive oil and turned out delicious!
ReplyDeleteGood for you in "keeping it real" :) I give you a lot of credit for even trying it when you did not previously care for it. And if you didn't like it prepared this way....I think it safe to say you gave it the best possible shot :) Yay for the upcoming eclairs. I am totally making them with Nana this week because I am too chicken to try them myself....
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you gave it a shot and that your kids liked it. Not every dish in an entire cookbook can be to someone's taste, so it's good it was an easy one that didn't do it for you, at least.
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