Winter vegetables are now worth cooking. This past summer, you had to get to the market early, before the produce wilted on the stands. But everything’s reviving with the colder nights and rain. Cauliflower and broccoli looked especially tempting this week, so I brought some of each home for lunch last week.
Pan-roasted cauliflower and broccoli recipe
PrintYield4
Ingredients
- 1 small cauliflower
- 1 medium-sized bunch of broccoli
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 scallions
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Olive oil
- Zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Cut away the leaves from the cauliflower (don’t throw them away) and cut the stem off. Break the head up into small florets no bigger than the first joint of your pinkie finger. Do the same with the broccoli. Keep the florets all about the same size, so that they’ll cook evenly. Rinse and drain.
- Chop the scallions finely. Chop the garlic finely and use the edge of your knife to mash it.
- Pour a dollop of olive oil into a large skillet and heat it up for a couple of minutes. Add the cauliflower and broccoli and stir gently to coat them with oil. Keep the flame medium-high. Leave the vegetables alone a minute or so, then lift a few to see if they’re starting to color at the bottom. If not, give it another minute. Cook and stir gently another 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and scallions and stir; cook only another minute. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed.
- Remove from the heat. Grind a little pepper over all and stir in the lemon zest.
- Serve right away.
- So what’s with those cauliflower leaves?
- Well, I’m always surprised that people throw them out. Steamed and with a little olive oil or butter drizzled over them, they’re a fine vegetable side dish.
Recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks.
