Tahini Roasted Broccoli Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

How do you stop broccoli from burning when roasting? ›

The tender, fuzzy “tree” tips of roasted broccoli florets are the most delicious, but they are also quick to burn. Make sure the florets are well-coated with olive oil to keep this from happening. Don't Crowd the Pan. If the florets are too close, they will steam instead of roast.

The broccoli is done when you can pierce it with a fork. As soon as it is pierce-able, remove from heat, place in serving dish. Note that green vegetables like broccoli will turn from vibrant green to drab olive green at about the 7 minute mark of cooking. So, watch the time, and don't let the broccoli overcook!

Bring a pot of water and salt to a boil. If serving the broccoli cold or reheating, prepare an ice bath to shock the broccoli when done. Carefully place the broccoli in the boiling water and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until tender. Once tender, carefully remove or strain the broccoli.

What is the best way to parboil broccoli? To parboil broccoli, bring a pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt. Carefully add the broccoli florets to the boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Once the time is up, immediately drain the broccoli and transfer it to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.

What causes broccoli to be bitter? Overcooking broccoli releases sulpher compounds. Take a hint form chinese cooking with a wok. Rapid and high heat produces a crisp and bright green presentation.

Swich tip: the smaller the vegetable pieces, the higher the oven temperature needs to be. This may sound counter-intuitive. But here's why: smaller vegetables take less time to cook throughout. On the other hand, harder and bigger vegetables are better cooked at 350-400 to prevent the vegetables from burning.

Peel the stem and trim right where the florets branch off. Break apart the florets. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli florets and cook, uncovered, until tender, 2 to 3 minutes depending on the size of the florets.

Wash AND dry your veggies.

After you wash your head of broccoli, make sure to dry it off before you toss it with the oil. A little moisture is ok, but if it's too wet when it goes in the oven, it won't get brown and crisp.

To boil, place in a pan of boiling water and cook the florets for 6-8 minutes. To steam, place in a steamer over boiling water and cook for 6-8 minutes. Broccoli to be stir-fried should be separated into bite-sized florets, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan and add the florets, cook for 4-5 minutes or until tender.

Blanching is a quick dip in boiling water, followed immediately by cooling. You can also preserve both nutrients and the enzyme needed to form protective isothiocyanates if you steam broccoli for three or four minutes (just until crisp-tender) or microwave for less than one minute.

Why do you soak broccoli in vinegar? ›

In a white vinegar solution: If you know your broccoli heads have aphids or cabbage worms, you can kill them with a solution that is ten percent white vinegar and ninety percent water.

The more you cook broccoli, the softer it gets. Eventually, it'll be like mush (i.e. baby food), if you overcook it. You do know you can eat broccoli raw, right. Most people give it a quick stir fry or blanch it briefly, which results in a somewhat harder texture when being served.

If you cut it into bite small pieces it can be done. Since the stalks are tough, broccoli should be cut into bite sized pieces before sautéing from raw. You'll also find that it picks up a bite of color and takes on a charred smokey flavor when cooked that way, which is fine if it compliments the dish.

This partial cooking is a significant part of advance preparation. The only difference between blanching and parboiling is cooking time. Blanching is done quickly, usually 30 seconds to a minute. Parboiling is usually several minutes.

Broccoli can be eaten raw, but blanching it quickly in boiling water helps give it a more crisp-tender texture and bring out its flavor. Broccoli can also be steamed, sautéed, and roasted. You could even throw long spears on the grill!

To help prevent over-browning or burning, make sure your broccoli is cut into roughly the same size pieces. You'll also want to make sure the florets are on the small side so they cook all the way through before the edges of the broccoli brown too much.

Try this: Toss your vegetables with olive oil, salt, pepper, a few cloves of smashed garlic, and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Spread the coated vegetables evenly across a parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet and roast at 400°F until almost cooked through. (Time will depend on which vegetables you're roasting.)

For the garlic, use smashed whole cloves instead of minced so it won't burn. Finally, roast in a moderate rather than hot oven so the vegetables have time to sweeten and caramelise evenly!