Here’s yet another broccoli recipe. Did I mention that broccoli is our favorite winter vegetable, one of the few bright spots on our table during these long, gray months? This time our go-to veggie is made even more vibrant with the zingy taste and sunny color of lemon. The topping of crunchy, earthy pecans contrasts with the firm texture and grassy flavor of the broccoli, and everything is bathed in warm butter.
This is a great recipe to complement a crispy roast chicken, or a perfectly cooked, juicy steak. I recently served it alongside a pan-roasted filet mignon. Because the steak was plain (no fancy sauce to mask its perfection), it needed a side with something interesting going on, and this broccoli dish was the perfect choice. It’s the kind of side you might find on the menu at a top steak house, the kind of place where your steak comes to you alone on the plate, and sides are served a la carte. Meat and potatoes are a study in neutral brown and creamy white, so a dish of this vivid green broccoli with its bright yellow curls of lemon will wake up your eyes as well as your palate.
Making this ahead and what to do with leftovers:
- The broccoli can be blanched ahead of time, and the pecans toasted. Just before serving, finish cooking the broccoli in the butter, and assemble the dish.
- The squeeze of lemon juice that finishes the sauce will cause the broccoli to discolor if it sits. So if you think you’re going to have leftovers, separate out the portion you don’t plan to eat before adding the lemon juice. Store the cooked broccoli and the toasted pecans separately. To serve, reheat the broccoli in the microwave, then squeeze the lemon juice over it and sprinkle it with the pecans.
To see this recipe combined with others in a special dinner menu, read the post for Saturday February 15, 2020.
Other recent broccoli recipes:
Broccoli with Pecans and Lemon Butter
Ingredients
- 9 ounces of broccoli crowns or 2 bunches of broccolini
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large, juicy lemon
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped pecans
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Step 1 If you’re using broccoli, cut the crowns into bite-sized florets. If you’re using broccolini, trim off the tough ends of the stalks.
- Step 2 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with salted ice water. When the water in the pot is boiling, add the broccoli and blanch it for two minutes, then immediately drain it and dump it into the ice water. When the broccoli is cold, drain it again and spread it out on paper towels to dry.
- Step 3 Meanwhile, lightly toast the pecan pieces in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, just until they’re fragrant and crisp, about 5 minutes.
- Step 4 Use the same large pot you used for blanching the broccoli to finish it, and there’s no need to wash it out before proceeding. Place the pot over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter is melted, add the broccoli, a few pinches of salt and a few grinds (or pinches) of pepper. Cook the broccoli, tossing it with the butter, until it’s tender, about 5 minutes, or to your liking.
- Step 5 Use a zester to finely zest one half of the lemon over the pot, letting the zest and oils fall into the butter. Cut the lemon in half and juice the half that you’ve just zested, and add the juice to the pot. Toss to combine the lemon juice with the broccoli and warm it through.
- Step 6 Thinly slice the other lemon half. In each slice, make a radius cut from the center out to the edge.
- Step 7 Transfer the broccoli to plates or a serving dish and pour the lemon butter over it. Sprinkle the pecans over the top. Make twists from the lemon slices and nestle them into the broccoli.
