9 Broccoli Recipes Your Lips Can’t Get Enough Of!

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If you are an avid broccoli recipes lover but clueless where to find them, or maybe you just want to have as many broccoli recipes as possible, then the guide to come here will be all you need.


Here is the deal,

Broccoli is an all-star virtuous add-in to almost all your dishes. It is delicious, fresh, juicy, and make an exclusive side dish with stir-fries, cheesy pasta dishes, or with lemon laced butter.

If you are looking for that extra great-tasting dish to round out your favorite dish, the broccoli won’t let you down.

As if that is not enough, it is packed with minerals, vitamins, as well as other vital nutrients.

You are in for a real treat if you are trying out broccoli for the first time.

Drawing its name from an Italian word ‘broccolo’ meaning cabbage sprout, broccoli has consistently made it to the top list of most nutritious dishes dating back to 2000 years since its first cultivation.

You could be asking yourself why broccoli?





Here is broccoli unpacked! Right from the benefits, to different types, to how to cook, and even how to store your broccoli if you have enough to spare.

In a nutshell, you get to explore everything you need to know about broccoli here.

And to help you better browse the article, here is a easy to navigate overview of every single section of the article.


Benefits of Broccoli

Broccoli is a powerhouse of the most essential nutrients. Even better, broccoli keeps the doctor away as it has numerous health benefits.

Packed with nutrients, it keeps your health in check by fighting off chronic diseases such as cancer, gut related disease, inflammations, and cardiovascular diseases.

It’s the ultimate secret to a blissful healthy living. A diet spiced up with broccoli has the following benefits.


Broccoli is simply a wonder plant with endless health benefits. It has many beneficial nutrients that play a role in protecting as well as healing the body. Here is an overview of health benefits of broccoli.

Improves your immunity

Broccoli is rich in vitamin C that is vital in strengthening the immune system as well as disease-fighting abilities of your body.

In addition, it has beta-carotene, phosphorous, zinc, copper, and selenium that play a major role in improving the efficiency of your immune system.

Fight heart and other cardiovascular diseases

Broccoli is rich in beta-carotene, high fiber content, omega-3 fatty acids as well as vitamins that are necessary for regulating blood pressure.

Well, regulated blood pressure is necessary for the proper functioning of your heart.

Besides, broccoli especially when steamed, is effective in reducing the level of cholesterol. By combining easily with bile, it makes excretion of bile more efficient as a result your blood cholesterol will be significantly reduced.

Improving proper function of the gut system

The fiber rich broccoli is a great companion to your digestive system. It has a high level of roughages, the magical ingredient that keeps in check the proper functioning of your digestive system.

If you want to eliminate the problem of constipation once and for all, then ensure that you throw in a bit of Broccoli in your diet. It also increases the movement of bowel reducing the chances of gut diseases.

Healthy bone development

Broccoli is an excellent team player towards having a robust and healthy family.

Practically, everyone, particularly your children, pregnant as well as lactating mothers, and veteran citizens would benefit from large quantities of calcium in broccoli.

Lack of calcium in your body can cause adverse health effects such as weakening of teeth and bone, bone-related diseases, and improper functioning of your nervous system.

Of course, you wouldn’t want to any member of your family be a victim to any of these diseases.


Types of Broccoli

broccoli plant

Broccoli is a leading member of the cabbage family.

What makes broccoli more special is the fact that its large flowering head is cut to biteable pieces and eaten as a vegetable. Better yet, you can roast or grill broccoli and have it as a side dish.


You could be familiar with only medium head broccoli that you see on supermarket shelves, but it's nice to know that is one of the many varieties of broccoli.

There are many different varieties and derivatives of broccoli. They differ in the length of time take to mature, production of side shoots, and the size of the head.

Below are the popular types of broccoli.

Broccolini

Heard of baby broccoli? If you love shopping in malls or supermarket, you are likely to have spotted broccoli with a brand name ‘baby broccoli.'

Broccolini has a long slender stalk with deep green broccoli florets.


Broccolini is popular among many people because it's sweeter and easy to cook. If you live a busy life, then broccolini will come handy for you as you can cook it for ten minutes, or even better eat it raw.

Broccoflower

The eye-catching ornate fractal-like pattern of broccoflower is not only appealing to the eye but also taste as it looks. Broccoflower compared to other types of broccoli is more similar to cauliflower.

Calabrese broccoli

This is the most popular type of broccoli in the western world. It has green florets that sometimes tingle with light purple coloration.

Other types of broccoli that make up as a side dish to many delicious diets across the globe include:

Gai-lan

Purple broccoli

Broccoli rabe


How To Best Store Broccoli?

If you have enough to spare, then it’s important to store them so that they would be delicious when cooked as fresh broccoli direct from the farm.

But before storing, how do you choose the best broccoli, so that will stay fresh for a longer time?


Here are some tips on how to choose the best broccoli:

  • Choose a uniformly colored broccoli
  • Your broccoli should not have any yellow flowers as it indicates over-maturity
  • Choose a broccoli with firm stalk and stem

Now that you know how to choose the best broccoli, you can now go ahead and store your broccoli. You can store your broccoli following the simple steps below.


Broccoli is best stored in refrigerator

To store broccoli put it in a plastic bag and press the bag against your broccoli to remove as much air as possible.


Store broccoli in a refrigerator without washing. Washing broccoli before storing encourages the growth of bacteria making it spoil much faster.

If you want to store your broccoli for an extended period of time, even up to a year, you can blanch and have it frozen. Surprisingly, it will taste as delicious as it was one year before storing.

How To Best Cook Broccoli?

There are many ways to cook broccoli as much as your creativity can allow you. There is numerous broccoli recipe that can be prepared effortlessly.

Nonetheless, the most popular ways of cooking broccoli include blanching in boiling water to bring out its flavor as well as have that crisp like tender texture. You can also have broccoli steamed, roasted, sautéed, or bring the best of broccoli taste on the grill.


Top 9 Yummiest Broccoli Recipes

You can run out of ingredients when making a diet with a broccoli side dish, but you can never run out of ways of cooking broccoli. Broccoli is just a super veggie that can be prepared with a lot of ease.

Here are 9 best broccoli recipes:

1. Baked Broccoli Recipe

Broccoli Recipes


Blanched broccoli with cheesy sauce poured over it is mouth-watering to say the least. It is simply creamy and tasty.


Ingredients


  • A bowl of broccoli floret, 500gm
  • 250 g of cheese, preferably cheddar cheese
  • A glass of milk
  • Maida
  • Stale white bread, preferably use two slices


Directions:

• Heat the oven to 200c

• Tender broccoli florets by boiling them for 10 minutes

• Boil the milk by pouring it into a pan, add cheese and flour and simmer

• Throw in some garlic to cheese sauce mixture

• Once the broccoli is tender place it in a casserole, add sauce, sliced pieces of bread, black pepper, salt, and olive oil to add a crispy texture to the bread.

• Bake for 30 minutes

• Serve while hot.


2. Chargrilled broccoli with buttermilk

Chargrilled-broccoli-with-buttermilki recipe

Ingredients


  • 300gm of buttermilk
  • Chicken breast or legs, preferably 3
  • 1 tablespoon of cumin powder
  • Vegetable oil
  • Red chillies, 1 tablespoon
  • Half a bowl or 100g of broccoli
  • Almond flakes, preferably 50gms


Directions:

• Prepare marinade by mixing buttermilk, pepper, salt, cumin powder, maple syrup, and garlic.

• Immerse chicken legs and have it refrigerated for at least 2 hours.

• Bake the chicken legs for 40 minutes after lining a baking tray using a butter paper.

• Blanch broccoli for 3 minutes

• Take broccoli out and sprinkle so oil. Grill broccoli 2 minutes.

• Serve broccoli with buttermilk.


3. Broccoli pasta

Ingredients


  • Spaghetti, 1 cup full
  • Chopped garlic
  • Half a bowl of broccoli
  • A pinch of chopped red pepper
  • A quarter cup of broccoli


Directions:

• Saute garlic using hot oil in a heated pan

• Add a pinch of red chillies and use pepper and salt to season

• Add broccoli and let it cook for three minutes

• Add pasta as well as parmesan cheese

• Cook for another 3 minutes and serve it hot.


4. Wasabi broccoli soup

Ingredients


  • 1 bowl of broccoli
  • Olive oil
  • 1 onion
  • Half tea spoon full of wasabi
  • Half a bowl of cream
  • Butter
  • Chilli flakes
  • 1 apple

Directions:

• Fry onions in olive oil and throw in garlic

• Add broccoli, water, and wasabi and mix well.

• Add cream

• Prepare fried potatoes by frying with olive oil and add salt

• Chop the apple and simmer it till it is brown and gooey.

• Mix fried potatoes with chilli flakes and add soup

• Serve while hot with apple compote.


5. Creamed broccoli soup

Ingredients


  • Chopped broccoli
  • Tablespoon of butter
  • A pinch of sifted flour
  • Pinch of black powdered pepper
  • A glass of milk
  • Cream
  • A pinch of common and celery salt


Directions:

• Heat butter and add half the broccoli

• Add flour and add stock gradually as you stir

• Blend in a blender once cool

• Place it back and add milk, celery, and half the broccoli.

• Turn the heat until the mixture boils and then lower the heat and simmer for ten minutes

• Garnish with cream and serve while hot


6. Pepper stir-fry with broccoli

Creamed broccoli soup recipe

Credit: silk.com

Ingredients


  • Canola oil, 1 tbsp
  • Fresh ginger, 1 tbsp
  • Pepper, 1tbsp
  • Chopped broccoli florets 5 cups
  • Sliced scallions
  • Hoisin sauce, a quarter
  • Sesame seed 1 tbsp


Directions:

• Heat olive oil and add ginger and cook for half a minutes

• Add broccoli, pepper, scallions and cook for 5 minutes

• Add hoisin and sprinkle with sesame seeds

• Serve while hot


7. Broccoli beef

Ingredients


  • A quarter cup of flour
  • Beef broth
  • 2tbsp of sugar
  • Soy sauce, 2 tbsp
  • A kilo of chopped steak
  • Garlic
  • Broccoli, 4 cups


Directions:

• Mix together broth, flour, sauce, sugar until the sugar has dissolved

• Cook beef for 4 minutes

• Add garlic, broccoli, and ginger and cook until the sauce thickens.

• Serve immediately


8. Stilton Soup with Broccoli

Ingredients


  • 1 diced onion
  • Olive oil
  • A bowl of broccoli
  • A bowl of peeled potatoes
  • Chicken broth, 4 cups
  • Stilton cheese, 4 ounces


Directions:

• Fry onions

• Add broccoli and potatoes

• Pour the chicken broth and heat to boil

• Simmer for 20 minutes

• Mix with cheese and stir

• Serve with the soup


9. Broccoli and bacon pizza

Ingredients


  • 1 head broccoli
  • Olive oil
  • Garlic cloves
  • Whole meal bread
  • Reduced fat mozzarella
  • Sliced onions
  • 80 of finely chopped bacon


Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 210c.

• Blanch broccoli for 1 minutes

• Drain and refresh under cold running water.

• Mix olive oil with garlic

• Put bread in baking tray and brush with olive oil.

• Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of mozzarella.

• Spray with olive oil

• Top with ricotta, broccoli, onion, and 2/3 of remaining mozzarella

• Bake for 14 minutes

• Serve while hot.


Still want to learn more about broccoli? The video below may be all you are looking for!


Conclusion


Broccoli is not only good for you, but also for your entire family.

You cannot go wrong with broccoli recipes as it is not only delicious but also healthy for the entire family.

Besides, if you want to live a healthy lifestyle free of chronic diseases, then it’s high time you made broccoli your everyday companion.

It is low in cholesterol and has vitamins and other nutrients that are vital for the proper functioning of the body.

As if that is not enough, broccoli can be cooked in numerous ways and have it as a side dish with your favorite meal.

Even better, you can cook broccoli under 10 minutes particularly if you leading a busy lifestyle.

In a nutshell, broccoli is the super veggie that continues to amaze many in regards to keeping away diseases as well as protecting the body.


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