Alice Water’s Slow Cooked Broccoli

This is a dish that I first read about in an article about  Alice Waters and Chez Panisse in Berkeley California. People mentioned that sometimes they had this amazing dish on the menu and many people tried to replicate it. Eventually Alice herself offered up the recipe, but I have to admit that my first go at it did not yield the best results.

I felt that it was unpleasant to look at and had lost that rich broccoli flavor  That being said, when you cook broccoli for 2 hours (yes, the recipe does call for two hours), what do you expect?

I felt there was a better way and after some experimentation, I have come up with my version which I really like. The key is to cook it very slowly and not to bother it too much.

Ingredients:

1lb Broccoli, cut into 1 inch pieces, stems and florets
4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Vegetable Broth, or 1/4 cup White Wine and 1/4 cup broth
2 Lemons zested and then juiced
4 cloves of Garlic, sliced
1 Shallot, thinly sliced
1 tsp Salt
Freshly ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Chili Flakes

Preparation:

Begin by slicing  your broccoli, garlic and shallots. Put into a saucepan, and add olive oil, juice and zest of lemons, broth, salt and chili flakes and bring to a soft simmer. Cover and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally adding more broth if it starts to dry out.

Serve over pasta of your choice with Parmesan cheese. I particularly like it with orecchiette. Or, it’s an excellent side dish.

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