cooking question? single bloke who aint got much of a clue!!?

Question

brocoli!!!
do i just cut the nice bits off an boil them for about ten mins?
apprieciate other veg dish recipes, 5 portions a day, etc,

Answer 1

cut the head off and boil for half an hour, add a little salt if you want

Answer 2

Wow, some really odd answers to this simple questions, ha ha. I stiry fry all my vegetables. It's easy, fast, healthy... what more do you need. In China, they cook nearly everything in a wok, and so do I. Why, because I eat a lot of things Chinese people eat, i.e. a lot of vegetables. The Wok is specificallly designed for people who eat a lot of vegegtables.

Eat the whole broccoli, stem too. If the stem is really tough and fibrous, it's old (as in allowed to grow too long), just eat the tops.

Otherwise, wash your broccoli, then chop your broccoli up: whack off the stem and cut thinly or in chunks, no rules, but long and thin is good. Again, if broccoli is old, could have a thick skin on stem, trim that outside off, the inner is nice. For the tops, slice the stalk under the head and pull apart to make smaller pieces. Do not just cut at the tops as all those tasty buds will fall off all over the place.

Heat some olive oil on high heat in your Wok (go get one; or I guess a frying pan will work). Add something you like for flavour, such as chopped garlic and grated ginger. Let the flavours infuse in your oil (you can skip the oil too if you want). Chuck in your broccoli and other vegetables that cook in the same amount of time, stir stir, throw on a lid and drizzle some water in there down the side. Just a little. That’ll steam them. Perhaps put a bit of soy sauce (any salt will leech water from the veggies; thus you won’t need to add water) too if you like. When they are cooked (hot all the way through) yet still crisp and crunchy, you’re done. Easy. There should be very little water left now. Soggy veggies are uncool. Boiled vegetables are no good unless it’s soup. All the flavour and nutrients end up in the water.

Answer 3

You can eat the stalk part too. Just cut off half an inch of the really thick part at the bottom (so the upper branches would come apart into smaller "trees") and then boil them. But I prefer to stir fry broccoli rather than boiling, I think it tastes better and gives it that crisp. Drip 3/4 of a tablespoon of oil onto a pan or a wok and then put in the broccoli and occasionally tumble the pieces so those at the bottom would not get burnt, and then add the salt and spices for taste. Broccoli tastes good with eggs too.

Answer 4

Cut off the individual florets (like the little bunchy things) and boil in lightly salted water until they're tender. About 7 minutes. Other easy to cook veg are frozen peas, sweetcorn, carrots (peel, cut into sticks or chunks, then boil for about 5 minutes). Stuffed peppers are nice. Cut a pepper in half, remove all the seeds, then fill with cooked mince (to cook mince, fry with a tin of chopped tomatoes and a beef stock cube), topped with cheese. Wack in the oven (medium temp) for about 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and the pepper soft. A good book for beguinners is Delia Smith's How to Cook. Pretty much an idiot's guide to cooking. Good luck!

Answer 5

even easier and yummier than that.

if you peel the stalks and cut of the end of broccoli they are tender and buttery when cooked. And they double your veg! cut into smallish pieces and put in a pan with enough water to cover the bottom and a pat of butter or a dash of ilive oil. Salt and pepper and cook until just tender enogh to easily bite into. Add a bit of garlic or sundried tomato or herb to make them really lovely.

Same is true for green beans, snow peas, carrots, peppers, zucchini, etc.

Another favorite: Trim the ends of some asparagus. Drizzle with olive oil and a bit of salt. Bake in a hot oven (400) until the ends just start to crisp up. Squeeze some lemon juice on top and sprinke with parmesan cheese.

you can also do the same with baby potatoes, peppers, carrots, onion, other root veg, mushrooms. Just toss with olive oil and cook in a hot oven for 10-30 minutes depending on the hardness and size of the veg. Roasting them relaly brings out the sweetness and concentrates the flavor.

Answer 6

You'd be better off steaming it as it retains more nutritional value. You could trying preparing some cauliflower in the same way and pouring a cheese sauce over them both (mixed together in a suitable container), grate some mature cheddar over the top and bake at about 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the top browns. Very nice, well I like it anyway.

Answer 7

I wouldn't boil them. Saps all the nutrients and leaves them super mushy. In a shallow pan or dish pour just a titch of water and cover after it begins to boil. Only takes a few minutes to steam and leaves with a nice crunch. Vegetables continue to cook shortly after they are pulled off the heat so remember that. You can also take the water that is in the bottom of the pan and pour it into an icetray. (It will be green water.) It is packed full of nutrients and can be used in soup and sauces.

Answer 8

I prefer my brocolli steamed. Cut the stems off (you can eat the thinner stem parts if you like), cut into bite size pieces and put in a pan. Put about an inch of water in the bottom of the pan, COVER, and cook over medium heat 15-20 min. Stir it once in awhile to make sure the brocolli on bottom isn't burning. By doing it this way, it uses less water and retains more of the nutrients... plus it tastes really good. :) It shouldn't be mushy... just tender.

Answer 9

You can boil broccoli, but sometimes it's good sauteed (Be sure to wash the broccoli and use the green tips) in a little bit of olive oil, and with other veggies, like red bell pepper, onion, and garlic over rice. There are lots of recipes on the website http://www.allrecipes.com/ , and you can search through them by ingredients or vegetables. The link for the broccoli search result is listed in the source section of this answer.

Hope this helps.

Answer 10

Steamed 10 mins is better than boiled. You can buy a little steamer thing to fit in your pots. I like to add garlic and season with salt and lemon juice.

Or put the florets in a bowl, cover with saran wrap, and nuke 2 mins.

You can also drizzle with olive oil and salt and roast in 350 degree oven 20 mins for a nuttier flavor.

These things also work for asperagus, cauliflower, squash (sliced), carrots, zucchini, and brussels sprouts (these need to cook a little longer). Butter or olive oil and salt are your best seasonings, but experiment with lemon juice and spaghetti sauce and salad dressings. I've even heard barbeque sauce is good.

Answer 11

if you boil it for 10 minutes you will have mush. You can steam broccoli in abouta 4 minutes or cook it the way i do. I cut it into bite size pieces, add abit of butter and salt and pepper, cover it with plastic wrap and cook it in the microwave for 3 minutes. it's perfect. Check it after 2 minutes, since microwaves cook differently. If you only have a pot and stove, then add 1 inch of water in the pan, add the broccoli, and heat to a boil and stir it often so it doesnt mush in one spot and steam it until it's tender.