recipes

Spicy Broccoli Sauté

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Alexandra Stafford/Bread Toast Crumbs

There’s nothing wrong with roasted broccoli, but it’s good to switch up your side dishes every now and then. Tonight, we’re making Alexandra Stafford’s spicy broccoli sauté (from her Cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs). It’s simple yet flavorful, totally crowd-pleasing and blanketed in breadcrumbs—what could be bad about that?

This recipe calls for homemade breadcrumbs, which are an excellent way to use up the stale loaf of bread you can’t bring yourself to toss. Simply tear up a loaf, blitz it in the food processor and use as needed to instantly upgrade a dish. (You can store the crumbs in the freezer to have at the ready.)

Alexandra (you can call her Ali) Stafford is best known for her popular food blog, Alexandra's Kitchen. You may also be familiar with her cookbook Bread Toast Crumbs, cooking tutorials at Alexandra's Kitchen, or her Instagram feed @AlexandraCooks featuring mostly simple, always seasonal, delicious dishes. She recently launched an online cooking class subscription series on Airsubs!

Reprinted from Bread Toast Crumbs. Copyright © 2017 by Alexandra Stafford. Photograph by Eva Kolenko. Published by Clarkson Potter Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.

Pan-Roasted Broccoli ‘Steaks’ with Garlic-Sesame Vinaigrette

Ingredients

¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup fresh breadcrumbs

Sea salt, as needed

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 pounds broccoli, cut into spears (6 to 7 cups total)

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. When it begins to shimmer, add the breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt, and sauté until golden and crisp, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

2. Wipe the skillet clean and add the remaining oil, red pepper flakes and garlic. Heat just until the garlic begins to sizzle, about 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

3. When the water is boiling, add the broccoli and cook until knife-tender, 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the size of the spears. Drain.

4. Reheat the garlicky oil over medium-high heat until the garlic begins to sizzle, about 3 minutes. Add the broccoli, season with a pinch of salt and cook for about 30 seconds, tossing to coat. Transfer the broccoli to a platter, sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and serve immediately.


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