This is one of those recipes that I’m particularly excited about for so many reasons.
Yeah, it’s broccoli and no I haven’t lost the plot so just hear me out.
Health:
Broccoli is a genuinely healthy veg that we could do with eating way more of, well by that I mean more consistently, on the daily, as opposed to overloading with a giant plate of it once in a blue moon.
Broccoli is full of fancy sounding compounds such as indole-3-carbinols, glucoraphanin, glucobrassicin, caretonoids and many more. The thick and thin of it is that these compounds are incredible for human health.
Some boost detoxification, others help to balance hormones, support eye health and the digestive system amongst others. Pretty impressive for a humble plant.
There is also a decent amount of various vitamins and minerals in there.
On a more anecdotal note, it’s the one vegetable that produces the biggest health improvements with my clients. Note that variety is always key and there is of course a lot more that goes into nutrition protocols than just broccoli.
Access
We grow a lot of broccoli in the UK (thank you Lincolnshire), in fact when you consider the various types, sprouting, calabrese (the traditional heads of broccoli) and broccoli sprouts, there isn’t a season that isn’t right for growing at least one of them. Sprouting broccoli, for example, does particularly well during winter when the traditional forms aren’t available.
As such broccoli is a cheap and nutritious British veg that scores pretty high on sustainability.
Having said that, do check the packaging for the origin since a lot is still imported from abroad, especially the calabrese variety which doesn’t grow year around in the UK.
On the whole, broccoli is cheap and nutritious so there is no excuse for not eating it more often.
Obviously, boiling it to death will ensure the majority of vitamins are lost, therefore stir-frying, cooking it into sauces or roasting it is the best way to handle this veg for maximum nutrients.
My favourite is “charred” sprouting broccoli.
It’s basically roasted broccoli where you allow the edges to char ever so slightly, giving it some crunch and extra flavour.
It’s super simple and quick to do.
Pair it with any evening meal or stick it in a wrap alongside goat’s cheese, tomatoes and rocket.
Ingredients for 2:
200g of sprouting broccoli (the long-stem kind)
good quality, ideally organic rapeseed oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of chilli flakes
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Wash the broccoli and trim the very ends off (just to get rid of the woody bit where it was cut during harvesting).
Lay the broccoli on a roasting tray, drizzle with some rapeseed oil, season with sea salt and black pepper and a pinch of chilli flakes.
Pop in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the stalk is fully cooked and the head is slightly charred.
Enjoy.