Recipes using Broccoli - Broccoli au Gratin

In the series knowing a vegetable we will see another recipe using broccoli. Broccoli au gratin is a baked dish and "au gratin" in french means "Covered with bread crumbs and sometimes butter and grated cheese, and then browned in an oven". So here we have the recipe and cooking instructions for Broccoli au Gratin

Ingredients:

2 Cups - Broccoli florets
1 ½ cup - Mayonnaise.
1 cup - Cheddar cheese (Shredded).
1/2 cup - Parmesan cheese (Shredded).
4 nos - Green onions sliced.
2 tbsp - Dijon mustard.
¼ tsp - Ground red pepper.
3 tbsp - Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs.

Cooking Instructions:

- Steam the broccoli for 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain well.
- Place the florets in a baking dish.
- Mix together the mayonnaise, Cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion, mustard and ground red pepper.
- Spoon over florets in the baking dish. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
- Bake at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.

Want more such recipes, subscribe to World Cuisines by Email

Suggested Reading :

Broccoli the vegetable
Cream of Broccoli - Soup
Broccoli Quiche

Recipes using Broccoli - Broccoli Quiche

In the series Knowing a Vegetable we saw about Broccoli and that was it. I realized that I had not provided you with any recipes using broccoli or did I? After double checking I have understood that I am not so irresponsible as I though I was. We saw about Broccoli Soup in the series Knowing a vegetable. Phew..... that was well put forth...

Now in continuation we would look into another beautiful (to look and to eat) dish "The Broccoli Quiche". Before I go further into the post I would want to let people know what a Quiche is (Sounds quishy) anyways, . A quiche is is a baked dish that is made primarily of eggs and milk or cream in a pastry crust. You can even term it an open pie which is not sweet. Alright so the recipe for Broccoli Quiche is as below

Ingredients:

225 gms - Broccoli florets.
225 gms - Shortcrust pastry.
100 gms - Gruyere grated.
3 nos - Eggs.
2 tbsp - Tomato ketchup.(Tomato concasse is good)
300 ml - Milk.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking Instructions:

- Line a 230mm flan dish with the shortcrust pastry.
- Cook the broccoli until slightly crisp and still very green.
- Evenly spread the tomato ketchup over the base of the pastry.
- Put the drained broccoli florets over the ketchup to form a broccoli layer.
- Beat together the milk, eggs, salt, pepper and half the grated cheese and pour into the flan case.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the quiche to form a thin layer.
- Cook on the bottom shelf of the oven for 30 minutes until the quiche is set and the cheese is golden brown.

Enjoy your quiche. If you feel you can get more of such information on food and dont want to be left behind, Subscribe to World Cuisines by Email.

Suggested Reading :

Broccoli, A vegetable
Cream of Broccoli, soup

Recipes using Broccoli - Cream of Broccoli Soup

After the previous post under the series knowing a vegetable on Broccoli, I thought I would go ahead and provide a recipe using broccoli. Every time someone says broccoli, I have all my senses in attention. It is very important for you to know that I am in love with broccoli and if someone says cream of broccoli I just am unable to do anything before a sip on that.

Find below the recipe for cream of broccoli, it is made using bechamel sauce as a base. Bechamel is a white sauce prepared using flour and butter. I will write about making bechamel in the posts to come.

Ingredients:

2 heads - Broccoli
200gma - Butter
3 cloves - Garlic, chopped
1 tbsp - Chervil (fresh/dried chopped)
1 tsp - Salt
1 tsp - White pepper
3 cups - Whole milk
1 no - Egg yolk, beaten
1/4 cup - Flour
1 cup - Cream
1/3 cup - Gruyere cheese
1/3 cup - Parmesan cheese

Cooking Method:

- Cut broccoli into bite-size pieces. Discard the hard stems, but keep the tender stem parts and leaves.

- Steam the cut broccoli for about 5-8 minutes, until just bright green in color. Do not over- cook.

- In a 10-inch enameled (non-metal) skillet, heat 6 oz of butter until melted. Add chopped garlic and wait until butter is hot enough to cook with. Add steamed broccoli, then chervil to the skillet. Lightly salt the broccoli.

- Cover, and cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for another 5-10 minutes or until the broccoli turns a darker green color and becomes very soft.

- Mash the broccoli right in the skillet, using a potato masher or a strong wooden spoon. Mash until there are no pieces remaining that are too big to fit in a soup spoon.

- While broccoli is cooking, add beaten egg yolk to 2 cups of milk. Put 3 Tbsp butter into a 2-3 quart saucepan. Use enamel or glass for best soup flavor. Metal pans will make this soup bitter.

- Melt butter and add flour. When the flour bubbles and starts to cook, add the egg/milk mixture into the saucepan. Add the cardamom and mace if using, and white pepper. Stir sauce constantly with wooden spoon until thick. Lower the cooking heat.

- Add the mashed broccoli mixture to the sauce. Stir until well-mixed. Slowly stir in the remaining milk and the cream. As soon as the soup becomes hot enough, add the grated cheeses.

- Turn the heat down lower and simmer for about 5 more minutes, stirring to allow the cheeses to melt and mix.

Does it not read yummy in every line of this post. Make sure you prepare and share with family.Subscribe to more such posts by email

Suggested Reading:

Knowing a Fruit - Avocado
Knowing a Vegetable - Broccoli
Avocado Chutney

Knowing a Vegetable - Broccoli

In the same lines of the series that was started for fruits with Avocados, I am starting another series with vegetables, this would be called Knowing a vegetable and we would start this series with Broccoli

What is broccoli?

Broccoli is a plant of the Cabbage family and has been around for more than 2000 years, The name "broccoli" comes for the Latin word brachium, which means "branch," or "arm.". Broccoli possesses abundant fleshy flower heads, usually green in color, arranged in a tree-like fashion on branches sprouting from a thick, edible stalk. The large mass of flower heads is surrounded by leaves. Broccoli most closely resembles cauliflower, which is a different group of the same species, but broccoli is green rather than white.
Americans have grown it in their gardens for only about 200 years! The first commercially grown broccoli was grown and harvested in New York, then planted in the 1920's in California. A few crates were sent back East and by 1925 the broccoli market was off the ground.
Broccoli is available all year, with a peak season from October through April.

How to choose Broccoli?

Select a bunch that is dark green with tightly closed flowerets. The stalks should be firm, without leggy branches. The buds should be tightly closed and the leaves crisp. Also the stronger broccoli smells, the older it is. Refrigerate, unwashed, in a plastic bag, for up to four days.
If you peel the tough fibrous outer layer off broccoli stems, it cooks faster, makes it esier to digest, and is more attractive.

Varieties

Broccoli was first grown in the Italian province of Calabria and was given the name Calabrese. Today there are many varieties. In the United States, the most common type of broccoli is the Italian green or sprouting variety. Its green stalks are topped with umbrella-shaped clusters of purplish green florets.

Cooking Broccoli

Be sure to cook broccoli quickly, since long cooking not only makes it soft and flavorless, but also destroys it's rich nutrients. Broccoli stems can be cooked in the same length of time as the flowerets if you make "X" incisions from top to bottom through stems.
Salt helps to keep broccoli green. The stalks, when peeled are good toe at also. Leaves are edible but give a better appearance if cut off.


SUBSCRIBE TO WORLD CUISINES BY E-MAIL

Suggested Reading:

Knowing a Fruit - Avocado
Recipes using Avocado - Avocado Chutney