Broccoli, which began life in the Mediterranean as a descendant of a type of wild cabbage that produced more tight buds than full leaves, was cultivated in the South as early as 1720. About forty-five years later, in what is believed to be the earliest American book on kitchen gardening, A Treatise on Gardening by a Citizen of Virginia, Williamsburg resident John Randolph wrote that broccoli stems will eat like asparagus and the heads like cauliflower.
After the Civil War, broccoli nearly disappeared from southern gardens until it was reintroduced in the early twentieth century.
Although a few folks might wish that it had stayed away, broccoli has turned into one of the most popular and reliable fresh vegetables around, especially when creative cooks go beyond basic steaming. Broccoli can be stir-fried, roasted, swirled into soups, tucked into comforting casseroles, and bathed in creamy cheese sauce.
A longtime regular in Italian cuisine, broccoli was barely known in the United States until the 1920s. Now, of course, it’s available year-round at every supermarket (there’s no reason to buy frozen), and with good reason:
It’s easy to grow and ship, inexpensive and flavorful, a snap to cook, delicious, and nutritious. It also can be prepared in a variety of ways, which makes it a great standby vegetable to keep in the fridge. Serve it raw, lightly cooked, or completely cooked.
The related broccoli raab is one terrific vegetable: strong, bitter, unusually delicious, and easy to prepare and cook. It has elongated stems with small flower heads surrounded by variously sized spiky leaves.
Buying and storing: For broccoli, look for tightly packed florets with no yellowing, on top of a crisp stem. For broccoli raab, look for bright green color, crisp stems, and unwilted leaves. Avoid those with more than a few tiny yellow flowers blooming; they’ll be too bitter. Store wrapped loosely in plastic in the refrigerator; broccoli will keep for several days, but use broccoli raab as soon as possible.
Preparing: For broccoli: Strip the stalk of leaves, if any (these are perfectly edible; cook along with the tops if you like). Cut off the dried-out end of the stalk and use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to peel the tough outer skin as best you can without going crazy. (To peel with a paring knife, hold the broccoli upside down; grasp a bit of the skin right at the bottom between the paring knife and your thumb. Pull down to remove a strip of the skin.) Cut the stalk into equal-length pieces and break the head into florets.
For broccoli raab: Trim the dry ends of the stems and pull off any yellowing or wilted leaves. Parboil and shock to preserve the green color or for quicker final cooking.
Best cooking methods: Steaming, microwaving, boiling, braising, braising and glazing, sautéing, and stirfrying are all good. For broccoli, regardless of the method, it often makes sense to cook the stalks longer than the florets; just start them a minute or two earlier.
When is it done? For broccoli: It’s a matter of taste. When bright green, it’s still crisp and quite chewy, and some people like it that way. Cook it another couple of minutes and it becomes tender; overcook it and it becomes mushy and begins to fall apart. Try cooking until a skewer or thin-bladed knife can easily pierce the stalk.
For broccoli raab: It’s done when you can insert a skewer or thin-bladed knife into the thickest part of the stalk. Undercooked broccoli raab is too crisp; overcooked broccoli raab is mushy.
Other vegetables to substitute: Broccoli and cauliflower are almost always interchangeable; or use broccoflower, Romanesco, or broccoli raab in place of broccoli. For broccoli raab: broccoli, asparagus, gai lan, or turnip or mustard greens.
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