My Kids Love Broccoli

No foolin'!

I'm not sure what to say. Maybe my kitchen skills and on point (true, but likely only part of the reason), maybe the green sprouts of this Italian version of Brassica oleracea just tastes great when the flavors are released in this method (very true, and likely the reason).

But both of my kids love their broccoli.

About to go into the oven

When I started this blog so many years ago, I never thought I would have a post about kids and broccoli. I suppose this blog was always just a stream of thought tableau for me, it can't be surprising it would ever come to this.

Anyway, there are two main ways we make broccoli in our house: blanching and roasting.

Blanching is where you drop the florets into a rolling boil of generously salted water (a la mer, 'of the sea', as in the water should taste like the ocean) and then as it's nearly done, spooned out directly into ice water. The ice bath shocks the florets into holding their color, but now they're soft and flavorful because of the salted water.

Both my kids will crush a pile of this type and ask for more.

The roasting version is presented here in photo form.

After coming out of the oven

I toss the raw florets in olive oil, salt and pepper to get a light covering on them. Then onto the parchment paper and into a scorching hot oven, like 450 or above. Mine doesn't work so well on Broil, so I usually just leave it at 450.

In a matter of minutes the smell of roasted nuts starts to fill the kitchen and if I think about it I might open the oven and use the parchment paper to agitate the florets, or rotate them, but if your oven has even enough heat, it won't be necessary.

The florets, when finished, will have golden brown caramelization on the undersides, and will be crispy and delicious. I prefer the roasted broccoli, but my kids don't discriminate.

We eat a lot of broccoli, and this is NOT an April Fool's post.

It's also my boy Tony's birthday, and the first day of April, my own birth month. 

And for some reason I'm compelled to write about broccoli. Again.

Happy Birthday Tony!