Broccoli: The culinary dark horse for flavour and nutrition

Broccoli is a vegetable that truly deserves a regular place on your menu. It's packed with a wealth of vitamins that boost immunity, improve blood clotting, and support the nervous system. In the green florets, you’ll also find fibre, which aids in bowel function, potassium, which regulates blood pressure, and sulfur compounds like sulforaphane, which have anti-cancer properties.

At home, the best way to prepare broccoli is by blanching it. Every chef we asked emphasised that this is a key step to achieving full flavour without losing nutritional properties. Broccoli can be blanched in two ways: tossing it into boiling water or steaming it under a cover.

We start by trimming the leaves and dividing the vegetable into smaller florets.

"The florets are quickly blanched in boiling water that is as salty as the sea for about 1 minute. They are then immediately removed and shocked in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. They are removed from the ice water, dried on a lint-free kitchen towel and reserved for later - advises Nathan Molina, chef at Genesee Valley Store, in a conversation with the simplyrecipes.com portal.

Molina adds that broccoli can be blanched a day in advance and stored in the fridge in an airtight container. Those who prepare meals in advance can also freeze a larger quantity of florets for a few weeks. This way, a healthy vegetable addition to dinner will always be on hand.

After blanching, broccoli can be prepared in many ways. It can be steamed, roasted, or grilled. The result will always be delicious if seasoned correctly with salt, pepper, and a hint of lemon juice.

"For one specific recipe, we grilled broccoli over a wood fire, steamed for a mustard-spiked puree, and shaved for a crisp, lemony salad. Cooking is optional. It’s not just one delicious veggie, it’s three," advises chef Jamie Simpson from The Culinary Institute.

Cooking is just one option. Blanched broccoli can be cut in half, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and roasted for around 10 minutes at approximately 200 degrees Celsius. Chef Simpson suggests then adding finely grated cheddar or Parmesan and baking for another 1-2 minutes until the cheese melts. Afterwards, just sprinkle with lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and enjoy hot.

What often ends up in the bin can become a true gem in the kitchen. Jimmy Vasquez, an experienced chef, draws our attention to often overlooked parts of broccoli – the stems and leaves. It turns out that they hold the most nutritional value and can add a unique flavour to our dishes.

Broccoli stems have a sweet, mildly earthy taste that pairs excellently with other ingredients. They are rich in fibre, vitamins, and minerals, making them even healthier than the florets. They can be added to soups, stews, salads, or even used to make pesto or hummus.

Although broccoli leaves have a slightly bitter taste, when properly prepared, they can become a real treat for the palate. Just sauté them in olive oil with garlic and lemon to unleash their hidden potential.