MetaChat - Another vote for Occhiblu's broccoli thang.

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08 January 2007

Another vote for Occhiblu's broccoli thang. Damn that's good. I know we're like triple posting now, but good food always deserves its own post. I was, frankly, doubtful about the crushed red peppers, but damn, I think they made it. I was so happy to put this in my mouth! [giggles like one of those Iron Chef Japan judges]

post by: JanetLand at: 21:22 | 32 comments

Hee. Awesome! Sharing the spicy broccoli love!

posted by occhiblu 08 January | 22:49

I want to like this. Really, really want to like it. But I'm reading the recipe, and it sounds like the broccoli is cooked for about 20 minutes.

Doesn't that result in waaaay overcooked broccoli, which is one of the great sulfurous evils of the world??

Occhiblu, you know I trust you. Set my mind at ease so I can try this.

posted by mudpuppie 08 January | 23:42

I may be overestimating the cooking times? When I do it, it's very definitely crunchy -- I often think I should maybe leave it on a bit longer, because it's seeming almost raw.

I think (based on nothing but hunch) that the "organic" part is actually important -- the broccoli I see at organic places tends to be crispier to start with. Then I'm also a lazy chopper -- I probably cut it into 1" pieces or so? Big pieces.

Basically, the cooking in olive oil and garlic is just enough to make the broccoli just barely not raw and to get the garlic flavor into the broccoli, and then the rest of the cooking is to heat the tomato enough to have a good texture.

I totally understand where you're coming from, though. The first couple times I made it, I thought that it just wasn't going to work, because they broccoli shouldn't be cooking that long, but I wanted it in the oil at the beginning to get the flavor... and it just somehow works.

Maybe it's magic. Kitchen magic!

(And not covering it? Has to be cooked uncovered, so there's no steaming going on.)

posted by occhiblu 08 January | 23:58

I'm also a lazy measurer -- not 1" pieces, probably closer to 2". I cut the stalk up more, because it's denser.

posted by occhiblu 08 January | 23:59

erm, occhiblu, why not steaming? I thought steamed is the best way to eat veggies, next to raw, really.

WRT to organic. I also cook only organic (for the kids). But I think we should not underestimate the freshness factor. I mean, a lot of organic vegetables and fruit stay shelved for quite some time before they are in my stomach whereas some non-organic certified are sold immediately (e.g. in open markets vs. supermarkets). What do you think on that?

posted by carmina 09 January | 00:05

I have nothing against steaming -- I loved steamed vegetables -- but it's not what you're going for in this recipe. You want to sautee, not steam, otherwise it'll end up watery.

As for organic... I dunno. The non-organic broccoli I tend to see in supermarkets has been rather unappealing, while the stuff I see in organic markets always looks amazing. I've also almost always lived in cities with high concentrations of foodies/hippies, though, so the organic and local markets tend to be pretty busy, so there may be more turnover? I don't tend to buy produce (organic or conventional) from supermarkets all that often. I'm insanely lucky to live in a place with great small markets.

posted by occhiblu 09 January | 00:18

Pupps, I just used occhi's times as a rough guide, because depending on your stove, your pan, how much broccoli and tomato there is, and how big the bits are, you'll require more or less time, I guess. I used less broccoli to begin with, and my pieces were a bit smaller than occhi describes, so I cooked it for a shorter period. It turned out nicely (slightly) crunchy but not raw, and a pretty green (a little darker than the barely-cooked bright-bright green, though).

I can't wait to try it in summer, when I can use delicious fresh tomato instead of canned (though it still came out totally awesome, even with the canned tomato).

posted by taz 09 January | 00:21

I'm insanely lucky to live in a place with great small markets.

hm, the open markets we have around here do not sell organic. But they do claim they sell fresh. Oh well. I prefer organic so I have to order, or get from the supermarket...

posted by carmina 09 January | 00:32

Okay, I'm convinced. I'll give it a shot. Maybe it will convert me to broccoli love.

posted by mudpuppie 09 January | 00:56

I cooked this last night and it was cool. I accidentally let the garlic go a light-to-golden brown colour and was worried that it might taste bitter, but it was lovely. Also, two cloves and not one - I loves me some garlic.

Yay occhiblu!

posted by TheDonF 09 January | 01:29

I find this highly amusing. I dreamed up this recipe while in a yoga class one morning, starving but virtuous; now it tends to be something I crave when I'm working out too much. It's been this weird guilty secret, that I occasionally eat an entire plate of broccoli, because who eats a meal that's basically nothing but broccoli?

Well. Little did I know. ;-)

posted by occhiblu 09 January | 01:37

(Also, the recipe that I posted? That I claimed was two servings? I totally eat all that myself, oh yes I do.)

posted by occhiblu 09 January | 01:38

Heh, yeah there was about 1/4 of a serving left of mine last night. I figurered, other than the oil, it was very healthy.

posted by TheDonF 09 January | 01:44

Yeah, but it's olive oil, which is full of things that are good for you. I refuse to freak out about olive oil.

posted by occhiblu 09 January | 02:02

yeah, it could have been worse, I guess * looks at vat of rendered down whale blubber and lard, wonders what to do with it *

posted by TheDonF 09 January | 02:11

I dreamed up this recipe while in a yoga class one morning, starving but virtuous;

See, that's its appeal for me. I've been going to a gym too, and I find -- to my surprise and chagrin -- that I want to eat healthy when I get home. So, this goes on the list.

posted by mudpuppie 09 January | 02:12

(Also, the recipe that I posted? That I claimed was two servings? I totally eat all that myself, oh yes I do.)

Yep; I made about half the portion, since it was just for me, but I should have made more. I was sad it was all gone after I gobbled it up; I was full, but would have liked to have more waiting for me whenever I got hungry again.

It really is a perfect dish in so many ways - it's healthy, it's low calorie, it's spicy, savory, crunchy, aromatic, and pretty - plus, it's fast, easy, and inexpensive! Hard to beat that.

I'm going to have it again today, I think. :)

posted by taz 09 January | 02:53

In fact, I could do with about a dozen more recipes of this sort. I come across a lot of things that are tasty and healthy, but they either require more time investment or include ingredients that take some assembling and planning, so I never get around to making them, or I make them rarely. Delicious, healthy dishes that take no more than 20 minutes and don't require any special shopping are gold.

I wonder if we could put together a bunch of these? A lot of us are trying to eat healthy, some of us are dieting... maybe we could help each other with our own good/easy/healthy recipes.

Also, I need some better way of keeping track of my recipes. All my stuff is a hopeless shambles - bookmarks, text files on my computer, magazine clippings, cookbooks with markers in them, and my personal book where I write down my own recipes... it's been missing for a month. I can't find it anywhere! Bah.

posted by taz 09 January | 03:08

I'm officially interested about this now.
But where's the link? I must have missed it.

posted by seanyboy 09 January | 04:11

Occhi gave us the recipe in a comment, then I made a lunch post referring to it yesterday.

posted by taz 09 January | 04:43

Excuse my stupidity, but is this something you would add to pasta or something you'd just eat by itself?

posted by chrismear 09 January | 05:11

Occhi came up with it as a dish on it's own, using broccoli instead of pasta as a venue for the Arrabiata (spicy sauce):

occhiblue: It's so good. And penne arrabiata is my total comfort food, so this is a good way to get that "yay, huge bowl of pasta!" feeling without actually eating a huge bowl of pasta.

posted by taz 09 January | 05:41

Ahhhhh, I see. I ask because I had something very similar at a restaurant recently, except with the addition of linguine and bits of salmon, so I was a bit confused. Either way, I loves me some broccoli.

posted by chrismear 09 January | 07:18

I will have to make this one day soon - but for now it has inspired me to make my own sauce for pasta tonight which is something I'm usually far too lazy to do.

posted by dodgygeezer 09 January | 08:39

Occhi, please post this recipe at Cooking With Metachat!

(The last post there was in October; let's have a revival!)

posted by initapplette 09 January | 09:22

I didn't even know there WAS a Cooking With Metachat! Neat!

posted by JanetLand 09 January | 09:42

I'm going to try to make this over the weekend!

Oh and have any of you tried making Cinnamon's Mushroom Soup? It's face punching GREAT! I made it and ate it all up with some of that no knead bread...i guess i only eat internet food now?

hmm.

posted by Mrs.Pants 09 January | 12:20

I would love to add it to the Cooking blog, but I don't seem to be able to. Help? There seems to be no avenue to add posts, but a bunch of the images/buttons seem to be broken, so maybe that's it?

posted by occhiblu 09 January | 14:16

Oh, also, I love taz's idea about easy healthy recipes. I need more of those, too. (Though I think fuzzbean's baby bok choy recipe also qualifies.)

posted by occhiblu 09 January | 14:17

I will add it to the cooking blog right now. And if anyone else has any recipes from other posts that they want me to add, just drop me an email.

posted by gaspode 09 January | 14:48

*sigh* except that "old" blogger is down for maintenance. I'll add it soon, anyways.

posted by gaspode 09 January | 14:50

Thank you! (And if you can correct the serving size to "one big portion" and the tomatoes to "one big can," that would also be awesome.)

posted by occhiblu 09 January | 16:43

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