Broccolini

Top o’ the morning to you!  I had “green” on the brain yesterday – did you?  The heightened awareness of green and my Sunday ritual of “oh heavens, what is for dinner this week” and I decided to branch out in the vegetable section of the plate.  Broccoli is a safe choice as a no-complaint vegetable.  But what is broccolini and how would I prepare it?  It’s easy and now there is a new option for the green on the plate.

Broccolini

Ingredients:

1.      Broccolini (1 bunch, 6 oz container or 1 1/2 pounds)

2.      Kosher salt

3.      2 T unsalted butter or 2 T extra-virgin olive oil

4.      1 t minced garlic

5.      1 T lemon juice

Wash and trim the ends of the broccolini.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the broccolini for 2 minutes. Drain immediately and immerse in a bowl of ice water.

Melt the butter or heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the garlic and stir. Drain the broccolini and add it to the garlic mixture and heat for 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper, and toss well before serving.

Notes: I purchased a 6 oz. container of broccolini and next time will purchase 2 boxes for our family of 5.  I also prepared it with butter but found some recipes with olive oil so provided that as an alternative.