The crown may be king, but the plant is just as regal.
That’s the takeaway from a summer of growing broccoli, a favorite food. Twelve broccoli plants yielded enough florets and crowns for snacks, salads and meals this summer. It was about halfway through the summer that, while picking a few, I thought surely I can do something else with all this broccoli — meaning the stalks, stems and leaves that were taking up so much space. Turns out you can.
I turned to the Fairbanks Cooperative Extension office for some input on using the broccoli plant, and a lot of the information there mirrored what I found on farm and homesteading blogs — that the entire broccoli plant is edible as it’s in the brassica family, which includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale and turnips.
“I think it’s becoming more of a thing people think about,” Extension educator and professor Heidi Rader said about using the whole plant, referencing the popular James Beard cookbook, “Waste Not: How To Get The Most From Your Food.” “When you garden, it opens up opportunities for things not for sale in the grocery store.”
She went on to say she would use broccoli stems the same way she does florets in addition to sauteing the greens.
And when it comes to the greens, they’re packed with nutrition. Broccoli leaves have higher amounts of beta carotene than florets, including more vitamin A and phytonutrients. One ounce of raw leaves offers 90% of your daily vitamin A and 43% of your vitamin C, according to the USDA.
Incorporating the leaves into meals was no problem, either. Throughout the summer, they got chopped and tossed raw into salads or sauteed with Swiss chard and kale. I wanted a little more though than inclusion in a salad, so on to braising it was. The result is similar to collard greens, having that classic greens texture and mouthfeel. I’ve even thrown some big kale leaves in with the braised broccoli greens.
I still wanted more though, so on to soup it was, especially as my garden season wraps up and cooler weather sets in. This Cream of Broccoli Leaf Soup is so comparable to a cream of broccoli soup, they could be interchangeable. When I made it this weekend, a neighbor who usually shuns vegetables admitted it was pretty good, to his surprise. That the recipe calls for two sticks of butter and 4 cups of heavy cream had nothing to do with that, I’m sure though.
You can find more information on growing great brassicas, including fertilizing tips and recipes, at the Extension’s website at cespubs.uaf.edu.
Use the whole plant
If you’re growing it, why not use all of it? Here a few ideas for getting the most out of broccoli plants, including stems, stalks and leaves.
• Roasted. Roast peeled stems cut into 1- to 2-inch sections just like you roast florets. Drizzle with some olive oil and a dash of sea salt and roast in a hot oven until the stems are tender or the leaves are crisp, like kale chips.
• Stir-fries. Cut and peel the stem and throw the pieces into your next stir-fry.
• Slaw. Broccoli stems make a great slaw. Just shred and treat it like you would any other slaw.
• Pickled. Try pickling the stems in a quick brine.
• Stuffed leaves. Just like you stuff a cabbage leaf, you can stuff a broccoli leaf. This works better with larger leaves, of course.
• Steamed. To keep all those nutrients in place, a quick steaming softens the greens and keeps their great color.
• Salads. Clean them, chop them and add them to your salads for crunch, texture and garden-fresh nutrients. You can do this with the leaves, stems and stalks. If the stalks are older, use a vegetable peeler to remove the tougher outer layer.
— adapted from foodprint.org
Contact Features Editor Gary Black at 459-7504 or at twitter.com/FDNMfeatures.
Broccoli Greens
You can use any of the leaves for these braised greens, but younger, smaller leaves are more tender. Older, bigger leaves might need a longer braising time to become tender to your liking.
1 large bunch broccoli greens, cleaned, destemmed, chopped into bite-sized pieces (approximately 8 cups, packed)
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 to 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
Heat your olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium to medium-high heat until melted. Add the chopped garlic and onion and saute until translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the broccoli leaves in small batches, tossing to coat with the melted butter and olive oil. Stir and toss occasionally until the leaves are somewhat wilted. Like all greens, the broccoli leaves will wilt down in size.
When the greens are sufficiently wilted, approximately 15 minutes or so, add your broth, starting with about 1/2 cup, and reduce the heat to medium-low. You want to braise the greens in a minimal amount of liquid, but feel free to add more, a little at a time, as necessary. A slow braise over medium-low heat is what you’re going for here.
Cover the pot with a lid and let the greens simmer about 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally, adding more broth only as needed. The greens should be tender and soft when they are done. Serve immediately.
Cream of Broccoli Leaf Soup
This recipe makes a large pot of soup but be warned — with 2 sticks of butter and 4 cups of heavy cream, it’s rich and filling.
1 large bunch broccoli leaves, cleaned, destemmed, chopped into bite-sized pieces (approximately 8 cups, packed)
3 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
1 onion, diced
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 cup butter, divided
4 cups heavy cream
1 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
shredded cheddar cheese and croutons for garnish
Add the stock to a large pot and bring it to a simmer. While that starts to simmer, melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a large pan.
Add the celery and onion to the pan and saute until translucent but not brown. Add the cooked celery and onions to the simmering broth.
Add another tablespoon of butter to the pan and a handful or two of chopped broccoli leaves and a pinch of salt. Cover with a lid to help steam and saute on medium heat until the leaves are wilted and the stalks are tender, then add them to your broth. Continue doing this with the leaves, sauteing in batches until they are all wilted and added to the broth.
Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until there are no large chunks of vegetables left. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender but be careful not to fill the blender too full as it could overflow.
Next, make the roux. Melt the remaining 1/2 cup of butter over medium-low heat in a saucepan. Add the flour and whisk together, stirring constantly. Add the cream, 1 cup at a time, whisking briskly until the ingredients are well combined and the mixture is more or less smooth. Continue doing this until you’ve added all 4 cups of cream. Add your roux to your soup and stir well to combine. Bring the soup back to a simmer for a few minutes and allow it to thicken.
Remove it from the heat and salt and pepper to taste. Serve it hot, topped with croutons and cheese.
Roasted Broccoli with Cumin
Courtesy Heidi Rader
4 tablespoons olive oil
1½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin, toasted
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds, toasted
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Juice of 1½ limes
2 broccoli heads, chopped
3 red bell peppers
Mix together the olive oil, salt, ground and whole cumin, garlic, red pepper and lime juice. To that add the chopped broccoli and red peppers, tossing to coat well. Roast in your oven at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
September 03, 2020 at 01:30AM
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There is more to the broccoli plant than just the crown - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
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