In 1990 the first President Bush famously put down broccoli.
“I do not like broccoli. And I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I’m President of the United States, and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli.” — George H.W. Bush
But maybe it was old or overcooked or worst of all, not seasoned with salt!
There are many ways to ruin broccoli.
For most of us, broccoli is a vegetable that is familiar and enjoyable and nutritious. We like it, and we eat a lot of it. I could easily serve a few heads to my family every week. What has made broccoli even more accessible to everyone is that it can be harvested with the help of specialized tractors and can also be cut up into bite-sized pieces by a machine. This preparation has made it inexpensive to purchase a product that is high in vitamins and fiber and ready to eat.
With most vegetables that now have year-round availability, we don’t know what they taste like when they are freshly harvested and in season.
That’s right. Broccoli has a season. And, if you pick it up on your grocers’ refrigerated produce stand, it likely has been there for too long. Food processors are much more concerned with food safety than they are food quality (at least for a good reason).
How broccoli grows
The season that you can grow broccoli depends on where you live. You need to have temperatures in the 40’s-50’s F, for at least three months. In most the United States, if you live where it freezes in the winter, this will be the spring or fall. In California, we can grow broccoli in the winter so, it’s coming in season now. In the California Salinas Valley, where most of our countries broccoli comes from, they can grow broccoli nearly year-round, with a short break in the fall, when their weather warms.
I’ve had a fascination with broccoli plants since I saw one growing for the first time eight years ago. Broccoli is a large plant that grows about 3–4 feet tall and is about 2–3 feet wide.
What is most amazing to me is that, for every head of broccoli we eat, the farmer discards the rest of the plant by tilling it into the soil. Nowadays, the “crown” is the prized portion, and the long stem that you would probably throw away is cut off and turned into “broccoli slaw.”
The broccoli crown that we are familiar with is the portion of the plant that becomes the flower, before the buds open up and show their color. Each small nub on the broccoli head will become a little flower. Like most flowers, broccoli is sensitive and is usually stored on ice to preserve it for as long as possible. These flowers are still trying to mature and grow. The flowers will produce ethylene gas after harvest, and this is the smell that you might encounter if you buy a bag of broccoli florets that has been on the shelf for too many days.
Even though the whole plant, including leaves and stalk, is edible, most large farms will till the remaining portion of the plant into the soil after the harvest of the first head.
You might like the other parts of the plant even more than the florets.
But can you get your hands on these broccoli parts?
The availability of the remaining broccoli plant parts makes a case for growing your own or purchasing it from the farmers market. You or your farmer can cut leaves or shoots and save the entire plant from the dirt.
Are the other parts of the broccoli better?
I’ve always enjoyed broccoli so I never thought much about the differences of the floret, stem, and leaves, until I was serving others. My first experience came when I was working part-time as a personal chef. I would cut and cook a family’s local vegetable box each week. In an effort to reduce the waste of the slightly more expensive, direct from the farm, organic vegetables, I would always peel and slice the broccoli stalks and include them with the florets when cooking. The family’s daughter found that she preferred the stems over the florets and went from a broccoli hater to a lover. If you are sensitive to strong flavors or textures, you might enjoy the stalks more than the florets.
My sister loves broccoli slaw and will grate the stalks in her food processor and add them to a salad. If you use a peeler to remove the outer fibrous layer, you can use a box grater to do the job.
The challenges to growing your broccoli eventually led me to use the leaves and the stalks.
I like to grow vegetables that my family eats. It makes the time and effort that much more rewarding. (This sounds obvious, but as I found out with eggplant, I’m the only one that eats it. Serving a beautiful platter of roasted eggplant doesn’t give me the same popularity at the dinner table, so it’s not as rewarding to put in the effort.)
It’s been challenging to optimize the weather and sunlight conditions that will make a vigorous plant in the winter. I have often ended up with small heads that will bolt quickly with a warm week in spring. Wherever you are, you will have to find out what works best.
By growing your broccoli, you can take advantage of the entire plant. You can understand the best time of year for growing and, enjoy the gems from the garden that are not available at the store.
Here is my favorite way to cook it:
This cooking method enhances the natural sugars and creates a combination of the bitter greens and the charred edges in each bite.
Roasting is great, allowing you to (once you find the best time and temperature) put food in the oven and do other tasks. Also, I love using parchment paper, a chef told me that it helps to keep the dishwasher around.
Feel free to adjust the oven temperature up or down 25 degrees F. and or adjust the time, so that the broccoli ends up to your desired level of doneness. For example, if you wanted the broccoli less cooked and more crisp, you can try increasing the temperature and decreasing the time by a few minutes.
Roasted Broccoli
1–2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets, about 4–5 cups
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Squeeze of half a lemon or a sprinkle of white wine or cider vinegar
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease the pan. Place broccoli florets in a large bowl, drizzle on the olive oil, salt, and pepper; toss thoroughly. Arrange the broccoli on the baking sheet. Bake for 20–25 minutes. Remove from oven spritz with lemon juice or cider vinegar, serve right away.
*Recipes are just guidelines, make adjustments as desired to your taste.