Olan Giech
16th Oct 2003, 09:58
When I first wrote home to my family to tell them all what culinary discovery I had found, I used this to describe what Italian Broccoli was like;
"...it was as if I had never tasted broccoli in my life. The boiled to death, green, fibrous, sponge, served dripping with water, the horror I had always known as broccoli faded away like an old nightmare, leaving me with organic oral-orgasm of broccoli passato."
In Italy, broccoli is prepared in a different way from the UK, and subsequently is used differently too. It is not boiled in a mass of water so it keeps its full flavour.
The leaves or what we would call 'greens' are greatly used, including the leaves and stalks of Beet, Spinach, and Chicory leaves can all be cooked in this way.
Broccoletti Passato
(A different variety of Broccoli, sweeter, with more leaves, smaller heads and slender stalks.)
Take the leaves and stalks and flower heads of the broccoli, cut off the fibrous parts (one can easily see how thick one can leave the stalks from a cut cross section) away and bin them, any older or discoloured leaves too. Wash the greens, and drain in a colander, not too much though you'll need a little water on them.
In a large saucepan with a lid, and over a medium flame quickly heat a thin coating of olive oil (not extra virgin) in the pan. Add two cloves of garlic, preferably in their skins, a half or a whole dried chilli depending on taste, bit of salt n pepper, and then dump the colander load (2lb) of broccoli on top. Give it a good stir, and cover with a lid. It will need stirring and turning over about every 5 minutes in it's 25 minute cooking time with the flame reduced in the last 10 minutes. You will need to add a little water ie 3 tablespoonfuls every so often but you'll easily see if it's getting too dry or not.
After which it can be served hot, or chilled for the next day (lovely with oil and lemon juice poured over). Chopped and mixed with ricotta cheese (a curd cheese) and packed into ravioli, or stuffed into pastries and baked. In Calabria they add more chili and make a pizza sandwhich, very hot.
I use it as a side dish when I'm doing a dinner, to balance the main. For example if I'm cooking fresh trout or salmon I'll cook the chicory which is slightly bitter to balance the sweet taste of the fish. Broccoletti with chicken and other fowl. Beet leaves go well with beef and venison, and large broccoli with sausages and pork.
"...it was as if I had never tasted broccoli in my life. The boiled to death, green, fibrous, sponge, served dripping with water, the horror I had always known as broccoli faded away like an old nightmare, leaving me with organic oral-orgasm of broccoli passato."
In Italy, broccoli is prepared in a different way from the UK, and subsequently is used differently too. It is not boiled in a mass of water so it keeps its full flavour.
The leaves or what we would call 'greens' are greatly used, including the leaves and stalks of Beet, Spinach, and Chicory leaves can all be cooked in this way.
Broccoletti Passato
(A different variety of Broccoli, sweeter, with more leaves, smaller heads and slender stalks.)
Take the leaves and stalks and flower heads of the broccoli, cut off the fibrous parts (one can easily see how thick one can leave the stalks from a cut cross section) away and bin them, any older or discoloured leaves too. Wash the greens, and drain in a colander, not too much though you'll need a little water on them.
In a large saucepan with a lid, and over a medium flame quickly heat a thin coating of olive oil (not extra virgin) in the pan. Add two cloves of garlic, preferably in their skins, a half or a whole dried chilli depending on taste, bit of salt n pepper, and then dump the colander load (2lb) of broccoli on top. Give it a good stir, and cover with a lid. It will need stirring and turning over about every 5 minutes in it's 25 minute cooking time with the flame reduced in the last 10 minutes. You will need to add a little water ie 3 tablespoonfuls every so often but you'll easily see if it's getting too dry or not.
After which it can be served hot, or chilled for the next day (lovely with oil and lemon juice poured over). Chopped and mixed with ricotta cheese (a curd cheese) and packed into ravioli, or stuffed into pastries and baked. In Calabria they add more chili and make a pizza sandwhich, very hot.
I use it as a side dish when I'm doing a dinner, to balance the main. For example if I'm cooking fresh trout or salmon I'll cook the chicory which is slightly bitter to balance the sweet taste of the fish. Broccoletti with chicken and other fowl. Beet leaves go well with beef and venison, and large broccoli with sausages and pork.