Broccolini with Scallions

Broccolini is the tender, stalky, baby alternative to broccoli in your kitchen. If you’re wondering how to cook and enjoy it, this recipe is an easy winner. The backstory is that my friend Malinda has a real knack for making big vegetable platters and salads. Remember the fennel salad in Super Natural Every Day? That was hers. We were at her house for dinner and she made a broccolini situation I absolutely loved. I helped myself to three servings. There were blanched lengths of broccolini, big shards of homemade croutons, creamy pockets of burrata, and toasted almond slices.

Broccolini with Scallions: Inspiration

Eating with Malinda was a reminder of how good certain things are. Sometimes I forget that big, rustic homemade croutons are worth making. And burrata or mozzarella? It’s great in salady things and veg-platters – it doesn’t have to be summer, and you don’t have to include tomatoes. Things like that. Ideas like these get pushed out of my brain from time to time and it’s nice to get reminders and inspiration from friends. Malinda and I chatted in the kitchen before dinner about dressing for the broccolini (and broccoli/broccolini in general). She mentioned she likes to accent hers with a bit of anchovy when there aren’t vegetarians around. I told her I often do the lemon zest/red pepper flake combo when I’m throwing broccoli together on a weeknight. And as that sentence was coming out of my mouth, I thought, wow, what a yawn. At home I would eventually build on M’s broccolini with lots of scallions, some serrano chile, and lots of toasted almonds. So good.

What Makes Broccolini Special?

Similar to broccoli, but with long tender, stalks, broccolini is mild tasting (compared to broccoli raab), can be quick to cook, and is nutrient-packed. You might see it in some places named baby broccoli. Broccoli raab (also know as rapini) is another thing altogether, more closely related to turnips than to broccoli. Broccoli raab is more bitter, peppery and strong but can be prepared in a similar way to both broccoli and broccolini.

How to Cook Broccolini

Broccolini is easy to work with. And there are many ways to cook it — braise, sauté, blanch, grill, roast. In this recipe I have you boil the broccolini, but you can certainly make a version using roasted broccolini, or grilled broccolini.

• To boil broccolini: Prepare an ice bath. Boil the broccolini in salted water for about a minute, or less if the broccolini is young and very tender. Plunge into the ice water bath, or run under cold water, to stop the cooking.
  
• To bake broccolini: Heat oven to 375°F, Place broccolini on a baking sheet, toss with a splash of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake until edges have browned and crisped, tossing once or twice along the way.
• To grill broccolini: Toss broccolini with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange on the hottest part of the grill and cook until they crisp and brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
• To steam broccolini: Bring a couple inches of water to a simmer in the bottom of a steamer. Arrange broccolini in steamer basket(s). Cook for a few minutes, or until broccolini is tender and bright.

What Else to Serve with Broccolini

I often cook broccolini to use as the vegetable component to the rest of a meal For example:

• It’s great on top of this vegan ramen, especially baked or grilled. The bit of char flavor is chef’s kiss.
• Broccolini is great as a pizza topping, I usually give it a quick blanch in boiling water first, shock it cold in some ice water and then use it as a pizza topping from there.
• Grilled to put on top of bruschetta.
• Baked into a sheet pan frittata, and then used as a component in a frittata sandwich.

More Broccoli and Broccolini Recipes

You can basically swap in broccolini for the broccoli in any of these recipes.

• Roasted Broccoli
• Braised Broccoli with Orange and Parmesan
• Double Broccoli Quinoa
• Broccoli Apple Salad
• all broccolini recipes

Continue reading Broccolini with Scallions on 101 Cookbooks