Broccoli can be a little bit boring, and you may roll your eyes and sigh if it’s presented to you on your dinner plate.
But there’s no denying its benefits, and you need to eat lots of vegetables each day to ensure your diet is healthy. Healthline shares that broccoli is a rich source of multiple vitamins, minerals and fibre, it contains many potent antioxidants, it may lower blood sugar and improve diabetic control, may support heart health, is an excellent source of Vitamin C which helps the immune system, and it may even support healthy bones and joints.
But boiled broccoli can be boring, and sometimes, it can come out of the pan with a really unpleasant stench, so it can then be hard to stomach. So, one doctor wanted to spice things up a little bit and make a recipe that would change the minds of even the strongest broccoli haters.
Doctor Bowl, a GP in London, shared her recipe on Facebook, joking: “If you haven’t smashed your broccoli yet, then you haven’t lived”.
She promised you’ll “never look back” once you make broccoli in this way, penning: “This smashed broccoli recipe makes the most CRISPIEST broccoli, and they taste SO SO good”.
To make it, you will obviously need broccoli, a handful of parmesan cheese, and to make the dressing you’ll require two tablespoons of oil, a tablespoon of chilli flakes, three tablespoons of hot honey, and salt and pepper to taste.
First, you should pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees, and then bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli and blanch it for two minutes. But then, this is where it gets exciting.
You’ll need to try the broccoli off with a paper towel, and then add it to a prepared baking tray.
Using the back of a cup or mug, press down onto the broccoli until it’s flat, and then in a separate bowl, mix the dressing ingredients together.
Spread the dressing over all of the broccoli pieces, then sprinkle generously with the parmesan cheese, ensuring all the florets are covered similarly. Then you need to roast it in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes – whenever it’s golden brown.
Someone in the comments wrote: “Boiling broccoli takes all the nutrients out. So it’s pretty much pointless to eat after that.” Healthline shared that “Different cooking methods, such as boiling, microwaving, stir-frying and steaming, alter the vegetable’s nutrient composition, particularly reducing vitamin C, as well as soluble protein and sugar.
“Steaming appears to have the fewest negative effects. Still, raw or cooked, broccoli is an excellent source of vitamin C. Just half a cup (78 grams) of cooked broccoli provides 84% of the reference daily intake (RDI) — more than one-half orange can offer”.
Another also pointed out it’s “much better than eating junk food”. “I never boil mine. Just toss the florets up with some EVOO [Extra Virgin Olive Oil], salt and pepper, hot pepper flakes and roast at 425 for about 30 minutes, flipping one. Delicious,” a Facebook user suggested.
Would you try this broccoli recipe? Let us know in the comments…
