This morning it was not raining, so I decided to go out in the garden and do a bit of cleaning and thinking. I found several broccoli florets to harvest. I also found my camera (macchina fotografica) sitting on the low wall outside my office, which meant that my camera had spent the night, a highly humid night, outside. The prospect of being left camera-less due to recklessness was rather disturbing, but I decided that, before assessing the digital damage, I would take care of the fresh broccoli. That's also how we call them in Italian: broccoli. However, while in English the name is uncountable, in Italian it is plural, the singular being broccolo.
Vegetable star, super-healthy broccolo (full name: cavolo broccolo) may one day decide to sue the Italian language for slander. In fact, calling someone broccolo is not a compliment. A classic example of broccolo (or, to be correct, broccola, since I am female) is yours truly leaving her camera outside all night, and during a spell of rainy weather to boot. As a consequence, a photographic record of my fresh broccoli does not exist.
Maybe because I recently made an excellent version of puréed cauliflower, compliments of Kalyn, but the idea got stuck in my mind of making purè di broccoli, a dish I had actually neither made nor tasted before. I steamed the florets and stems (about 1 lb) until they were soft. I also sprayed with olive oil a small frying pan, warmed it up and put in it half an onion, chopped. I added some minced fresh sage and cooked until the onion was quite soft, a little over 15 minutes. At the end, I added un pizzico di sale (a pinch of salt) and some freshly-ground black pepper, then placed both onion and broccoli in the food processor and puréed until smooth. I poured the intensely green, healthy purée in a bowl and sprinkled a tablespoon of freshly-grated parmigiano over it.(I got to use my brand new grattugia!)
While the broccoli was steaming, I turned on my camera and it did come alive. I then cleaned the lens and dried out the water that had seeped behind the LCD screen. To my surprise, the camera then seemed to perform as previously, which is the reason why I am able to show you what the finished dish looked like. As an improvisation, my broccoli purée turned out very well, as demonstrated by the fact that there were no leftovers. And in case you are wondering about my camera current whereabouts, rest assured, it is inside the house.
This is my entry for the November edition of Heart of the Matter, a heart-healthy event hosted this month by Michelle of The Accidental Scientist. The topic for this month was Holiday Food. My purè di broccoli is a not a classic holiday dish according to the tradition I come from. Its green color, however, reminded me of a Christmas tree (albero di Natale), with the grated parmigiano filling in for the snow (neve): doesn't this make it into a Holiday Food?
Here is the round-up of HotM #9.
Note: according to the heart-healthy recommendations, a small quantity of cheese is allowed and with all the flavor parmigiano packs, a little goes a long way in terms of flavor.
Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:
or launch the purè di broccoli audio file [mp3].
[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]
I’m glad your camera was ok Simona.
E’ l’ideale per questa stagione: lo proverò.
Ciao
What a great recipe! I love broccoli… and I’m quite looking forward to seeing all of the entries for this HotM event!
What a great idea. I never thought of cooking broccoli like this, but I bet it’s very good. So glad to hear that the camera is ok.
Thanks Maryann.
Ciao Lenny: si’ e’ ideale col freddo.
Hi Ann, I am too!
Hi Kalyn and thanks. I liked it a lot.
Your broccoli dish looks healthy and delicious. I’m so glad your camera is okay. You have enough to worry about right now.
A lovely bowl of greenery.
I might need to take up the use of broccolo/broccola, in lieu of much ruder words – I too have a habit of leaving good, useful things in the garden to fend for themselves!
molto bella l’idea di questo pure’. Io adoro i broccoli romansechi, ma son di parte 😉
All the flavor and none of the guilt and reckless fats of creamed broccoli. Looks so, so good for you.
Good that your camera still works, Simona. I would chalk it up to being overloaded by your household move rather than recklessness.
Thanks Christine. Things are getting better and Robert is back.
Thanks Lucy: it looks like my camera was pretty good at fending for itself.
Ciao Francesca, sai che si trovano anche qui?
Thanks Susan. I still can’t believe I did that!
Che bella l’idea dietro il tuo blog, insegnare a pronunciare parole italiane mentre scrivi le ricette!
E ho appena letto che anche tu vivi a Berkeley per un po’ del tuo tempo! Anch’io sono a Berkeley! Come ti trovi?
Simona, shouldn’t you add to your profile that you like words? Great site to discover here thanks to HotM #9.
I saw your picture in the round-up and came here to tell you how beautiful it looks. It’s hard to make a dish of green look pretty, but you certainly did it!
What a wonderful idea! I’ve never thought of just puree-ing and eating. Must remember: simple it best!
And lucky you to have it so fresh!
Ciao Marta e benvenuta. Ci vediamo presto.
Hi Labelga and welcome. Thanks for the good suggestion: I did. In college I studies philology and ever since I have been interested in the way words develop and the connection with the culture.
Thanks Susan: I was pleasantly surprised myself.
Hi Katie. I am sure the freshness was a big factor in delivering flavor.
Ciao Simona,
I like broccoli, although I can’t honestly say that pure` di broccoli appeals to me, but maybe I will give your recipe a try.
We sure do get attached to our cell phones and digital cameras, don’t we?
What bugs me is when I am trying to photograph a steaming plate and it fogs up the lens. I’ve tried blowing, but it just doesn’t seem to work.
Ciao Anna Maria. It was a bit of a surprise to me too. I have made it again and I really like it: the grated parmigiano really makes a difference, though. You know, I don’t think I have ever encountered the fogging up problem and I am not sure why, since sometimes I photograph dishes that are steaming hot. My big issue with my camera is the lag time: a digital SLR is in my wish list, but I am still not ready to make that investment.
Simona, I read your post this afternoon and I simply HAD to come home and make this myself! I threw some fresh basil in the blender and sauteed some garlic cloves with the broccoli, and then mixed the puree up with whole wheat spiral pasta. Delicious!
Thanks for a great vegetable prep idea! I’ll use this again soon.
Well, I take this as a great compliment: I mean, inspiring the cooking and eating of deliciously healthy broccoli is an honor. Broccoli and pasta: what a great marriage!