Spicy Garlic Broccoli and Beans
Is it a side dish? Is it a main? I would say this is a hearty side or light lunch but it you add some nice thick slices of sourdough bread (especially if they are toasted with olive oil, salt and pepper) this is the main event. Chick peas would work very nicely as well here but I have used cannellini beans. I like to slice the broccoli very thinly so they cook quickly and are less woody. This way I can use the stems and have less waste. Tender stem or broccolini would also work perfectly here. I would still slice the stems so that everything is about the same size.
Ingredients:
1 head of broccoli sliced thinly including the stems
4 tbsp olive oil
6 tbsp sliced garlic
Generous pinch of herb salt (plain salt also works)
1/2 tsp red pepper flake or more to taste
1 can white beans drained and rinsed
1/2 lemon zest and juice
Fresh crackled pepper to taste
Recipe:
Add olive oil to large frying pan over medium heat, ideally one that has a lid. Add the cannellini beans, garlic and herb salt to the pan. Toss to coat the beans with the other ingredients and fry for few minutes. Make sure the garlic doesn’t burn so reduce heat if needed.
Add the sliced broccoli to the pan. Toss to combine all the ingredients together then add 4 tbsp of water and put the lid on the pan. Cook 3-4 minutes until the broccoli is bright green. Then remove the lid and continue to cook gently tossing to prevent burning the garlic.
When most of the water has evaporated, add the lemon zest, lemon juice and red pepper flake. Toss again to combine. Taste for salt and add fresh cracked pepper.
Serve with lemon slices and bread or a side of rice or couscous. Makes around 3 servings depending on how big your head of broccoli is. This is good cold as well so you can save the rest for the next da. Serve over some torn lettuce for a delicious salad. Just dress the lettuce with some lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and add the left over broccoli and beans over the top.
