Broccoli: 6 Reasons Why You Should Eat It Regularly

Broccoli, like spinach, is likely a childhood trauma for many. But give the green vegetables a second chance!

Broccoli is God’s revenge for pizza – or something like that is the saying of all those who don’t like green vegetables.

But maybe it just has to do with the wrong preparation? A mushy, soft boiled broccoli is really neither appetizing nor really tasty …

Properly prepared, broccoli can also shine on pizza …

Love-hate broccoli

Which child already loves broccoli? For most of us, the green cabbage is a vegetable that, at best, has a right to exist in a stew, overcooked beyond recognition. Wrong, as we think!

Broccoli shows its relationship to cauliflower through its external shape, but its taste is incomparably different!

Broccoli originally comes from Asia Minor, which is why it should not be missing in many Asian recipes. It then came to Europe via Italy, where it is mainly grown on the Mediterranean today.

And that’s why it goes well with pizza and other Mediterranean dishes. Broccoli also grows very well in Germany and is harvested here until October.

Healthy ingredients

Broccoli contains a relatively large amount of potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc as well as sodium and B vitamins such as B1, B2, B6, E and especially a lot of vitamin C and provitamin A.

In order to preserve these substances as much as possible, broccoli should not be boiled in water, but rather cooked in steam. If you cook it, continue to use the cooking water for soups or stews so that the minerals dissolved in it are not lost.

Usually only the beautiful florets are used, but the stem, leaves and stems are also edible! You can puree them and use them to refine mashed potatoes or simply conjure up a cream soup out of them!

If you don’t want to use it right away, freeze the leftovers cut into pieces and use them in your next cream soup or in a stew!

Preparation tips

Broccoli should be firm and taut when purchased and should never feel like rubber or be wrinkled. Then it is no longer fresh.

The length, size and thickness of the stalk indicates how big the “head” of the broccoli was: if the stalk is very thick, but there are only (still) a few florets on it, you can assume that the broccoli is already Lies in the store for a long time and has been “pimped up” to promote sales by removing florets!

Wash your entire head whole, so you don’t wash out the water-soluble vitamins it contains.

As already mentioned, all parts are edible, but the stalk is slightly woody and should only be mashed or cut into very small pieces in soups and stews.

The “woody” part of the stalk is not unhealthy – on the contrary, it is healthy fiber that you shouldn’t throw away!

Broccoli can also be eaten raw! However, sensitive people occasionally react to it with flatulence, but you should try this for yourself instead of relying on the old wives’ tale “Broccoli is poisonous when raw”.

Raw it is a great ingredient for green smoothies and salads! In salads, the small florets are also recommended to be gently blanched for an even greener glow in the salad!

If you cut off only the mini florets that are reminiscent of “crumbs” from the raw vegetables with a sharp knife, you get a decorative topping for soups, stews, smoothies and other vegetable dishes. Try the healthy decoration once!

Be careful not to overcook the vegetables beyond recognition! On the one hand you destroy many vitamins and wash the minerals out of the vegetables, on the other hand you also change the taste from “fresh” to “musty”.

Broccoli still has to bite when you serve it!

Lightning recipe: pasta with broccoli

This recipe can be cooked very quickly, uses just a few ingredients and yet makes a difference. Try it! For 4 people you need:

• 1 broccoli
• 20g pine nuts (or almond sticks)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• Some fresh parsley
• 1 clove of garlic
• Slightly grated lemon peel
• Chilli flakes or fresh chilli, cut into rings
• Salt, pasta, water

Cut the broccoli into small florets and add the pasta water.

Until the water boils, roast the pine nuts or almond slivers in the pan without any fat.

Add the pasta to the water and meanwhile finely chop the garlic clove and add to the pan with the olive oil with the kernels or almonds and heat up.

5 minutes before the end of the pasta cooking time, put the broccoli florets in the pasta pot and cook at the same time.

Mix a few spoons of pasta cooking water with the ingredients in the pan. Pour off the water, mix the pasta and sauce and season with salt and lemon zest and chilli.