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Recipe Video
This is how you cook bright green and crisp-tender like a pro:
Cooking broccoli like a pro? Bright green and crisp-tender instead of mushy and yellowish? It is so easy to cook perfect broccoli with this recipe. You have to follow a few very simple steps and you will have a perfect crisp-tender broccoli – bright green and slightly tender like in the restaurant.
The first important rule of cooking perfect broccoli is the cooking time. Most of us cook broccoli for too long. Evidently it loses its crunchiness and beautiful color. As a result of keeping broccoli in boiling water for too long, it becomes mushy and brown or yellow. Second rule to follow, if you want a perfect result is what you do with broccoli after cooking. It is essential to drain the water and put freshly cooked broccoli into very cold water. To make water really cold, before putting broccoli inside, you can put water into the fridge and keep it there for 30-40 minutes. To shorten the time of preparation, you can put cold water into the freezer, then it takes only 10 minutes. Without a doubt the best way is to put broccoli in cold water with ice. Doing this you will not need to prepare the water before. I like to use crushed ice, but any type of ice would work. Next it is important to leave broccoli in the cold water for a very short time. In brief, 2 minutes are enough to get perfectly cooked broccoli with light green color.
Preparing broccoli like described in this recipe is perfect for salads or to use broccoli as a side dish. Check my broccoli salad recipe with croutons, turnip cabbage, capsicum and delicious dressing.
You want to eat more veggies, but do not know how to cook them? Check my power bowl recipe with baked potatoes, beetroot, sweet potatoes and whipped feta. All these vegetables are available all year long in addition you can buy them anytime in the nearest supermarket. The combination of baked vegetables with whipped feta is absolutely delicious and is perfect for meal prep. I like to dip freshly baked potatoes and beetroot into the feta.
Looking for more healthy and delicious recipes? What about brussel sprout salad? In this recipe you prepare brussel sprouts in a special sauce. It is spicy, it is sweet, salty and has a very unique taste. You are going to love it, even if you do not like brussel sprouts!
Method: the best way of cooking broccoli
Ingredients
- 600 g broccoli florets
- ice crushed ice or ice cubes
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
Method: the best way of cooking broccoli
- Prepare water with ice cubes or put water in the refrigerator (to cool boiled broccoli)
- Cut off 600g of broccoli florets into bite-sized pieces.
- Bring water to boiling
- Add 1 tsp salt to the water, put broccoli in boiling water, and cook for 3 minutes (not longer!)
- Pour through a sieve and drain the water
- Add crushed ice or ice cubes to the very cold water in a big bowl. If you do not have ice, you can put broccoli into very cold water. For this, put a bowl with cold water for 30-40 minutes into the fridge or for 10 minutes into the freezer.
- Add broccoli to water with ice. Keep in cold water for 2 minutes, drain.
This way broccoli is not boiled and retains a beautiful bright green color. It can be used for salads or for baking.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Top health benefits and facts about cooking broccoli
Broccoli is incredibly good for you and your health. Broccoli contains a lot of fiber. That means that eating broccoli influences digestion in a very positive way. Broccoli contains a lot of vitamins. It is rich in vitamin C and K. Therefore broccoli is perfect, if you want to have strong bones and protect yourself from osteoporosis.
If you want to lose weight, broccoli is great, because eating broccoli you stay full for a longer period of time. Broccoli contains a lot of antioxidants. Following this, if you eat broccoli, it will help to protect you from cancer and heart disease.
100 g of raw broccoli contains 34 calories. 100 g of frozen broccoli contains 25 calories.
100 g of raw broccoli contains 2,82 g of protein. 100 g of frozen broccoli contains 2,5 g protein.
There are many different ways to make broccoli taste better. Some of them:
1) Add some cheese to broccoli. One of the most delicious combinations is broccoli with cheddar cheese (e.g. like in broccoli cheddar soup) or broccoli baked with parmesan.
2) Add some nuts. The combination of nuts and broccoli is really unique for our taste buds: broccoli is tender and nuts are crunchy. It is great to use this combination in salads.
3) Roast broccoli with mushrooms. This combination is amazing, because mushrooms add a lot of flavor to broccoli.
4) Cook broccoli with tofu. You can saute broccoli and tofu in peanut sauce or tomato sauce.
If you do not like the taste of broccoli, you never cooked it the right way. Check my recipe for a perfect bright green and crisp-tender broccoli here.
Broccoli pairs well with a lot of foods:
1) Mushrooms. Mix broccoli and mushrooms for a delicious and healthy salad.
2) Eggs. Scramble some eggs and add broccoli for more plant-based protein.
3) Cheese. You can cook broccoli cheddar soup. Or bake broccoli with parmesan.
4) Nuts. Add some nuts to cooked broccoli (like almonds or pine nuts) and you have a perfect crunchy salad.
5) Grains. Broccoli is a perfect side dish with cooked bulgur, couscous, quinoa.
6) Pasta. Add some cheese and cooked broccoli to your favorite pasta and you have a perfect lunch or dinner.
Broccoli is very easy to cook. There are some simple rules to follow:
1. Do not cook broccoli for too long, because it will lose its crunchiness and bright green color.
2. After cooking, put broccoli into very cold water with ice.
3. Follow the exact steps in this recipe and you will love eating broccoli.
Leftover broccoli can be frozen to use later. You can keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can also use leftover broccoli in soups (e.g. broccoli cheddar soup), casserole (e.g. broccoli, potatoes and cheese casserole), stir fries (e.g. broccoli and tofu in peanut sauce). You can also eat leftover broccoli with a dip (e.g. whipped feta dip is amazing with cooked broccoli).
Sources:
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/broccoli#benefits
