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Broccoli leaves


Druckenbrodt

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Just bought a bunch of them in my local greengrocer. Have never cooked them before and would love some tasty suggestions. I'm imagining some kind of chillie/garlic/olive oil action could work with them, perhaps with beans, or pasta, or buckwheat something or other in a hearty winter way?

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broccoli leaves, hmm...

1. topping to beer/cheese soup...or fondue.

2. chopped and added to stir-fry...or better left whole, maybe.

3. instead of "watercress sauce/essence", "broccoli sauce/essence".

4. addition to a tomato dipping sauce for cheese sticks.

5. replace spinach with broccoli leaves for ravioli filling.

6. topping for a grilled pizza or flat-bread.

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Instead of cabbage rolls you could make broccoli rolls. Blanch leaves, stuff and roll your favorite filling inside (rice/buckwheat/pork/barley/vegetables/pine nuts, etc), steam or braise in stock or tomato sauce.

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Thanks for the feedback everyone - some tasty ideas here!

Are they a bit like spinach in the sense that you need to blanch them/squeeze out the bitterness before moving onto stage two?

How much of the stalks can you use? Are they the same things as 'broccoli rabe'? They're definitely bigger and tougher (and without the sprouty bits) of what we call 'purple sprouting broccoli' in the UK.

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They are cabbage family. They are varieties of the cabbage family, like kale or cavalero nero that are grown for their leaves, or even sprout tops, but broccoli isn't one. Broccoli rabe is a version of the young leaves and flower buds of rape. If in the UK you were sold broccoli leaves, I suspect that is what they are - leaves of purple sprouting broccoli.

I would expect then to be a bit coarse and stringy but perfectly edible, which is why I would shred finely. You might need to strip the leafy bit from the ribs and cook separately depending how tough the ribs are. Should not need to blanch/squeeze, but like all leaves they will have a lot of moisture.

The thick stems of broccoli are delicious. Peel or cut off the outside stringy bits to leave the pale green core, cube and cook lightly to give jade green cubes. I never have enough except as a garnish. Cream or white sauce would go well...

Edited by jackal10 (log)
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They are cabbage family. They are  varieties of the cabbage family, like kale or cavalero nero that are grown for their leaves, or even sprout tops, but broccoli isn't one.  Broccoli rabe is a version of the young leaves and flower buds of rape. If in the UK you were sold broccoli leaves, I suspect that is what they are - leaves of purple sprouting broccoli.

I would expect then to be a bit coarse and stringy but perfectly edible, which is why I would shred finely.  You might need to strip the leafy bit from the ribs and cook separately depending how tough the ribs are. Should not need to blanch/squeeze, but like all leaves they will have a lot of moisture.

The thick stems of broccoli are delicious. Peel or cut off the outside stringy bits to leave the pale green core, cube and cook lightly to give jade green cubes. I never have enough except as a garnish. Cream or white sauce would go well...

Hmmm... They don't seem to be like purple sprouting broccoli leaves which I'm pretty familiar with because my father has grown them for years and years in his vegetable patch. They seem bigger and 'rougher'. Also I bought them in Paris where I live (and where you can't buy purple sprouting broccoli for love nor money, which is a mystery to me, since PSB is surely one of the most delicious vegetables ever to grace a kitchen garden.)

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