Broccolini, Broccolini!!!

Broccolini, which is a cross between broccoli and Chinese chard, is absolutely delicious. It has a sweeter taste, somewhere between asparagus and broccoli. I recently tasted it for the first time and now I can't wait to incorporate it into a few dishes.

I harvested a few veggies from the yard, mostly odds & ends. Two eggplants, one zucchini, and a couple of orange peppers. I rinsed them, cut them up and put them on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam. Then, I added some baby Portabella mushrooms, and a few sun-dried tomatoes, that I had in the freezer. Drizzled the veggies with olive oil, sprinkled a little oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt & pepper and baked for 20 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees. I turned them over and baked for an additional 10 minutes.

When they were done, I drizzled a little balsamic glaze over the top and a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese. Very colorful but it really need a splash of green.

So...... getting back to the broccolini...... I had just bought a bunch the night before so I rinsed them, trimmed a 1/2" off the stems and sauteed them for 2 minutes in 2 Tbs butter and 2 Tbs olive oil to which I added 1 tsp chopped garlic and a little kosher salt & pepper. Lowered the heat, and covered them to steam for about 5 minutes. I added them to the tray of veggies. Delish!!! There were great at room temperature. In fact, I made veggie wrap on a flour tortilla for lunch.


*Cant' wait to make Cavatelli and Broccolini with oil, garlic, and grated Parmesan. :)

** When Poppa Sal used to say "Brooklyn" in his broken English it actually sounded like "Broccolini".