(NOTE: I added the cherry tomato after I took the picture, feeling that the color and sweetness would help. It did)

This version of recipe play brings us back to the always important issue of material re-use. Sounds scientific. It’s not. It merely means identifying opportunities to use the moreovers you have from a recipe (broccolini stems, in this instance) in other, creative ways. In these tough economic times, this isn’t only a good use of resources, it’s extremely economical as well.

For those of you who haven’t experienced the wonders of broccoli stems, you’re missing out. Just beneath the tough external skin lives a sweet flesh, perfect for dicing up into batons and eating raw with a nice vinaigrette, or, in this instance, for adding subtle, herbaceous sweetness to a light, primi course pasta.

Chow lists some other ideas foodies have suggested for broccoli stems.

You might notice I’ve used spaghetti a lot lately. Well, if that’s what you have on hand, don’t be afraid to use it. It’s more versatile, in my humble opinion, than many types of pastas and is amenable to a variety of different types of treatment.

If you’re making broccoli for another meal, simply cut the stems and reserve for later. They won’t keep too long, so don’t forget about them in the back of the fridge. They’ll get lonely, and when you finally get around to using them, that neglect will come out in the flavor.

First things first; cook the pasta to al dente in salted water and drain. This dish will not turn out well if you forget the salted water.

Next, approach the broccoli stem. Shave off the rough exterior skin with a veg. peeler. Then, continue with the peeler, turning the stem to shave off even slices. continue until you have what amounts to a rough handful for each small serving of the pasta. I made about three servings.

Now, if you have onion lying around, the acid will be a nice complement. I had green onion, so I shaved it in a like manner.

Now, add a small glug of oil to a saute pan and set it to medium. As soon as the oil heats slightly, add a crushed, but still intact garlic clove. It’s important to flavor the oil slightly, but not to cook the garlic or add it to the dish. As soon as the smell becomes strong (you know, that garlic smell you love) and the garlic begins to brown, remove from the pan.

Add the stems and onion to the oil and saute gently (low-med). You’re just looking to heat them slightly and add the flavor of the garlic oil.

Now, I wanted the subtle flavors to pop, so I opened the cupboard and turned to my old friend Cider Vinegar. I’ve capitalized it here because, well, it deserves the respect.

Add one to one and a half caps full of the CV. to the pan and toss. As always, remember to season appropriately with Mr. S and Mrs. P.

Add halved cherry tomatoes and toss (As always at Recipe Play, I encourage you to experiment with your own vegetable additions. Remember, the goal is for this to be a light, pre-main course pasta dish, or a light lunch. If you come up with something fun, please drop me a line).

Add pasta with tongs and saute ever so slightly, tossing to distribute the ingredients. Add a bit of shaved parm or pecorino romano and toss again once, plating immediately and serving with fresh cracked black pepper.

More later

Broccoli in Chicken Stock with Pepper and Parm

Cut Broccoli into floret

Cut rough out edges off stems and slice into batons (the center of broccoli stems are sweet and crunchy and take equally as well to the pan as they do to the crudite and dip tray)

In a large skillet, add enough chicken stock to submerge broccoli halfway when added to the pan. Add a dusting of white pepper. Maybe a half teaspoon, but no more. Turn heat just above whatever LOW setting you have on your stove. You want an aggressive bubbling, just above a simmer

Add broccoli, turning every so often for roughly 4-5 minutes. Cover for 1 minute and 3 seconds.

Remove from heat and drain broccoli in a colander for a quick drain of the stock, adding steaming hot broccoli almost immediately to a bowl and shave fresh Parm to the hot broccoli, tossing once and grating a little bit more over the top. If you have a box grater, use the second finest grate.

Crack freshly ground pepper over the top, add a pinch of salt and serve.

If your family is anything like mine, people take a while to get to the table. This dish is best if served very hot, so make it the last thing you do prior to serving. If it’s going to be five or ten minutes before people sit, cover with paper toil rather than foil.

Broccoli in Olive Oil  and Garlic with Red Pepper and Rice Wine Vinegar

Cut Broccoli down to florets, retaining the stems as mentioned above (if this is your thing)

Blanch Broccoli. Boil salted water and add broccoli for roughly one minute, removing immediately to a colander to drain.

In a skillet, add a generous glug (a glug, in my mind, is an aural measurement – I hear the oil make a “glug” sound as air makes its way into the bottle as I pour. For these purposes, you want enough to have standing oil in the pan. As we’re using the oil as in essence a condiment, it’s okay to go a little heavy on the oil.

Heat on low for about a minute or two.

Add just under a teaspoon of red pepper flakes and rough chopped garlic – should be large chunks for ease of removal as the garlic is merely intended to flavor the oil. IMPORTANT – you don’t want the garlic or the flakes to cook as much as simmer. They should barely bubble. If the garlic starts to turn brown quickly, remove it or the dish will be ruined by a bitter smoky garlic taste. if you’re worried about the step, simply cook the garlic for a few minutes until it barely starts to turn golden and remove with a spoon.

Add a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar with a spoon. Don’t pour this in from high up, add as close to the oil as possible as the introduction of the vinegar is likely to cause the oil to spit – why it’s important to either have a good apron or not to wear anything you wouldn’t mind having small oil polka dots.

Simmer this mixture for another minute and then add teh broccoli, turning and tossing often to coat the mixture. Does this until a test piece of broccoli is hot when you taste it.

The broccoli should be cooked through, but still crunchy.

Serve immediately with a final dusting of sea salt or kosher salt – anything with large crystals.

More later,

Will