Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Superfoods Forever: Broccoli mash

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Today's Superfood: Broccoli
Vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, folate, fiber

When I want a luxurious side dish that doesn't add too many calories to my dinner, I steam some broccoli and get out my food processor. Puree cooked broccoli with a splash of olive oil and a bit of grated cheese and you end up with a rich, thick paste with the texture of mashed potatoes. 

The trick to getting the right texture is making sure the broccoli isn't too wet. That's why I steam instead of blanching: Boiled broccoli not only loses some of its nutrients to the boiling water, but it purees up as more of a slurry and less of a mash.

You can mix a few mashed potatoes into this broccoli puree if you like, but it's not strictly necessary.




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Broccoli mash
Serve this chunky broccoli puree instead of mashed potatoes for a lower-calorie side dish.
Ingredients
  • 1 pound fresh broccoli
  • 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan, Romano or Grana Padano cheese
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Cut the broccoli into rough pieces - stems, florets and all - and throw it into a steamer set over a pot of simmering water. Steam the broccoli about 10-15 minutes. Try to pull it out of the steamer when it's cooked through but not yet mushy - you want to catch it before it starts to turn gray.Put the cooked broccoli in a food processor and add the olive oil, grated cheese and lemon juice. Process until the mixture is almost smooth. Add salt and pepper, taste, and adjust seasoning. Serve hot.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 4 servings

2 comments:

Sherry Smith-Noble said...

This is a great idea -- I cannot wait to try it. Thanks, Erika!

Anonymous said...

That looks great. Since I like brokkoli but am a bit bored of the simply steamed vegetable!

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