BMW - (broccoli my way)

I heard there’s a beautiful crop of organic broccoli down at the co-op this week.  I love fresh sweet broccoli and steamed is always good.  A lot of people think just plain steamed broccoli is just too ... well, too green.  If this is you, I have a couple of alternatives that will help you win friends and influence people.  Here is a simple stir fry or roast possibility for that sweet, green, cold weather friend.

The ingredients I use for either are the same and I always tend toward the stir fry because it is so fast.

2-3 pounds broccoli
2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 red onion chopped
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice (and a little zest if you have a fresh lemon)
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil (a tablespoon of fresh is even better or if you have some basil pesto* in the frig you can use a tablespoon of that)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

To stir-fry:
Cut the broccoli into small florets.  Peel the stalk and chop that into half inch cubes as well.  You paid for the stalk and it is one of the best and sweetest parts of the broccoli, so don’t throw it away!
Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet and add the broccoli and onion.  Toss it all around to get it coated with the oil and then add a couple of tablespoons of water and put a tight fitting lid of the skillet for a minute or two.  This steam gives a quick cook to the broccoli and will evaporate quickly.
Now add the minced garlic and the sea salt.  Toss that around for a minute or two and add the lemon juice, zest, and the basil or pesto.
This whole process should not take you longer than 5 minutes.  Be careful to not overcook the broccoli - you want it to be tender, but still bright green and not mushy.   
Have some rice, linguine, or fettuccine already prepared and put a helping of this on top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese or serve it as a side dish. 

To roast:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Cut the broccoli into florets and chop the stalks, same as above and place in a bowl.  Mix the olive oil, garlic, and salt.  Pour over the broccoli and onion and stir to coat evenly.  Put in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 20-25 minutes, until crisp-tender.  You don’t want it to be brown and mushy. Remove from the oven and toss with the lemon juice, zest, pesto* or basil.  Serve either as a side dish or over rice or linguine topped with the Parmesan cheese.

* some of you have my basil pesto recipe already and you know this as a year round ingredient in a lot of my cooking.  The rest will just have to hang in there until basil season, when I will share it with the world and then you too will always have a supply of the world's best basil pesto on hand.

Now, what are you waiting for?  Head on down to the co-op and pick up some of that delicious organic broccoli today.  Your body will thank you for it.