Persephone Farm

Sustainably Grown Vegetables & Flowers – Indianola, Washington

broccoli

Broccoli Picnic-Friendly recipes for the Fourth of July

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Fresh broccoli

This week, along with the first tomatoes of the season, CSA subscribers got plenty of beautiful broccoli in their baskets. Here’s some delicious ways to enjoy the broccoli bounty. Happy Fourth!

GRILLED BROCCOLI

Ingredients
1 bunch broccoli, cut into 8 large spears 2 lemons, quartered 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling kosher salt and black pepper

Directions
Heat grill to medium. In a large bowl, toss the broccoli and lemons with the oil and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Grill, turning occasionally, until tender and lightly charred, 10 to 15 minutes.
Squeeze the lemons over the broccoli and drizzle with additional oil.

BROCCOLI AND BLEU CHEESE SALAD

Ingredients
1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets (6 cups) ¼ cup buttermilk 2 tablespoons sour cream 2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled 1 scallion, sliced ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar kosher salt and black pepper ½ cup toasted walnuts

Directions
Fill a large saucepan with 1 inch of water and fit with a steamer basket. Bring the water to a boil. Place the broccoli in the basket, cover, and steam until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Rinse with cold water to cool.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk, sour cream, blue cheese, scallion, vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Drizzle the broccoli with the dressing and sprinkle with the walnuts.

PERFECT(LY EASY) BROCCOLI DIP

Ingredients

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons minced onion
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons seasoned salt

Gently stir all ingredients together and chill until ready to eat.

Broccoli Morsels

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This recipe submitted by apprentice Felicia. Delicious broccoli fritters that she learned to make last year as a farm apprentice in northern Idaho.

From Diane Green, farmer at Greentree Naturals Certified Organic Farm, Sandpoint, Idaho

Serves 2-4

2 large eggs
2 cups broccoli, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated cheese of choice
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1/3 cup olive oil

Beat eggs and combine with all ingredients except oil. Form into 1 1/2 inch balls or patties. Heat oil in a saute pan and cook patties until browned on all sides, approx. 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Mix a little lemon juice with plain yogurt for a great topping for the morsels.

Note: You can also prepare the batter in a food processor if you prefer.

Bon Appetit!

Purple Sprouting Broccoli braised with Bacon, Garlic and Chili

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We are having a bumper crop of purple and white sprouting broccoli due to the mild winter. Enjoy this simple and tasty preparation.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time 10-15 minutes
Serves 2
Ingredients: ¾ lb PSB, ¼ lb smoked bacon, 3 tbs olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced, 1 dried chili, chopped finely.

  1. Blanch the broccoli for five minutes in plenty of boiling salted water.
  2. While it is cooking fry up the bacon in the olive oil until almost brown. Add the garlic and chili and cook for another 2 minutes.
  3. Add broccoli to the bacon and braise for another five minutes.

Broccoli Rabe AKA…

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Right away subscribers found rabe in their boxes.

“Perhaps more than any other vegetable, broccoli rabe is known by various names, including rapini, broccoli raab (pronounced rob), raab, rape, rapa, broccoli di rape and rappi. In the U.S., it is most commonly called broccoli rabe or rapini. It is not, however, the same thing as broccolini or baby broccoli, which are much sweeter.”

So says, San Diego food writer Susan Russo in an article on npr.org (June 7, 2010).

She writes about growing up eating broccoli rabe every Sunday. It was a staple in the Italian-centric area of Rhode Island where her family resided. She says “You don’t have to be Italian to eat broccoli rabe” and shares favorite recipes that sound pretty darn good. Pictures included.

Broccoli Rabe, Fennel And Hot Sausage Pizza
Lemony Broccoli Rabe And Cannellini Bean Crostini
Broccoli Rabe And Mushroom Frittata With Grape Tomato Salsa

Read the article and recipes here.
Susan is a farmers market fan, her web site is Food Blogga.

Broccoli Rabe and Pasta With Garlic, Anchovy and Hot Pepper

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Ingredients

2 bunches of broccoli rabe

salt to taste

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 T extra-virgin olive oil

6 oil-packed anchovy fillets or to taste

1 t hot red pepper flakes or 1 small dried red chili, chopped, seeds and all

1 lb orecchiette, cavatelli or other pasta

4 quarts water

freshly ground black pepper to taste

grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese

Instructions

Clean and coarsely chop the broccoli rabe.

Bring about 1 inch of lightly salted water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Add the broccoli rabe and cook until it is tender and only a few tablespoons of liquid are left in the bottom of the pan-about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how finely the vegetable is chopped.

Set the pan of broccoli rabe aside, but keep it warm.

In a separate skillet or sauté pan, gently sauté the garlic in the olive oil until it is soft, then melt in the anchovy fillets by crushing them in the garlicky oil with a fork.

Add the red pepper and stir to mix well.

Turn the garlic-pepper oil into the broccoli rabe and mix.

Cook the pasta in lightly salted boiling water until done. Drain the pasta and immediately combine with the seasoned broccoli rabe. Turn it into a warm serving bowl, add pepper, and serve immediately.

You can pass grated cheese at the table.

Recipe from GourmetSleuth.com