the girls like broccoli, but they LOVE broccoli rabe, which has been at the farmer’s market the past few weeks, and at the co-op too. sometimes it goes by the name rapini, depending on where you get it. it’s basically the first broccoli shoots of the year, when they are leggy and tender and sweet, before they get fat and budded out like the little trees of my childhood vegetable plate. the girls prefer the stems, actually, and i don’t blame them! this time of year, they are super sweet. i’ve been seeing kale rabe, too, which would be another awesome thing to have in this dish.
however- if you can’t get broccoli or kale rabe, or raab, or rapini, you can have a go at plain ol’ broccoli! it will still taste yummy, i’m sure.
broccoli polenta is the height of ease and natural gluten-free deliciousness. corny and green and yummy.
first, you’ll want to have your chopped up broccoli at the ready. i use anywhere from 2-4 cups of broccoli, cut up into quite small bits. smaller than peas, but not as small as lentils.
the polenta is cooked in boiling water, just like any other grain. the ratio is around four (water) to one (polenta). bring the salted water to a boil, then add the polenta while stirring with a whisk so that it doesn’t get all clumpy and stick to the bottom. i use a le creuset- a heavy pan will help it not to stick- but when i was in college i used what i had (think $1.99 at goodwill) and it turned out just fine. turn the heat to low and continue to whisk it about for a few minutes, another trick to keep it from sticking. add in the broccoli bits, cover and let cook at barely a simmer. stir, as they say, occasionally. give it about half an hour or so. if it gets clumpy, add some water. you want it to be smooth and thick, not clumpy. you can cook it longer if you like as long as you don’t let it stick or get clumpy.
be sure to taste for seasoning, but don’t burn your tongue! add salt if needed.
you can eat it soft, straight out of the pan (we usually do) or you can cool and mold it. or- you can do both and have one meal now and one later! there are a myriad of ways to mold it. i think the easiest is to put it in oiled muffin tins and pop it into the fridge. later, when you want to eat them, you can pan fry (this takes a bit more oil), broil, or bake at 350 degrees. or if you’re me, eat them straight out of the tins, standing in front of the fridge.
plate with tomato sauce, or butter, or nearly any type of cheese (clearly parmesan is the best, but who am i to say it sucks with cheddar?), or olive oil…pretty much whatever you’d put on pasta.
you can do this whole process without the broccoli and you have blank slate! slather with sauteed mushrooms! put it on a bed of spinach, top with a poached egg, and drizzle with pesto! try it with black beans and salsa! the sky’s the limit, people.
next up, rosemary cannelini!





























