A steaming way to roast broccoli?

Say broccoli and, as a kid (like most) I said “yuck.” I loved my wonderful mother, but in the early days she over-cooked most vegetables to a mushy texture. Of course, back in the 1960s, she was often stuck with canned veggies that started out mush (canned asparagus, peas, corn and spinach I remember, but not canned broccoli even though it exists).

It’s worth noting she later favored a terrific salad with raw broccoli florets, bacon, sunflower seeds, raisins and a tasty dressing that I love and should make more often — and that is almost exactly the recipe MT did for a Test Kitchen article in June of 2020 during the early days of this feature’s rebirth.

Say “roasted” and I think something in the oven, on a spit/skewer over open flames, or on a gas or charcoal grill. I don’t think of skillets. So when I stumbled upon an episode of America’s Test Kitchen that promised “skillet roasted broccoli” my skeptical self emerged. Oh, who am I kidding? My skeptical self never submerges — it comes from my Purple Heart award-winning Army Air Corps tech-sergeant dad’s side, and some of us refer to it as “the Guydish in me,” as opposed to the softer, mom-influenced “Bayzick in me.”

The doubt increased with the “add two tablespoons of water” instruction, which sure sounds more like steaming than roasting — a cooking method that by definition requires “dry heat.”

Of course, lots of roasting calls for some liquid: maybe wine or a little water in the oven roasting pan, maybe basting, maybe sprigs of wet thyme or chips of soaked wood for grilling (or more accurately, “smoking”). The important thing is, in the show, the finished product looked plenty roasted. So I tried it as the vegetable side to the Mother’s Day dinner I made for MT and her mom (love you, Nanner!) that featured a wine and herb fish dish recounted in last week’s Test Kitchen.

And make no mistake, if you tell people it’s roasted broccoli without mentioning the skillet, based on the caramelized brown bits alone they will almost certainly believe you.

In short, while the chef suggestion that people who don’t like broccoli will like this preparation is suspect, it’s a great test for them. The caramelized browning really sells the “roasted” part while changing both texture and taste. It’s pretty easy — though not as easy as just steaming florets (or eating them raw) — and all three of us thought it was great.

I did make the suggested topping, though I substituted French’s Crispy Fried Onions for harder-to-find nutritional yeast. It was OK, but I think the broccoli sans topping is tasty enough.

Dobru chut!

Skillet Roasted Broccoli (America’s Test Kitchen)

1 head broccoli

2 tablespoons water

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast.

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Slice broccoli into smaller crowns. For heads up to 4 inches split 4 ways, for larger heads split six ways. Chef Dan Souza suggests cutting the stems and pulling the rest apart. The important goal is to have two flat surfaces (primarily on the stems) for each piece.

Add 5 tablespoons of oil to a non-stick, 12-inch cold skillet. Place broccoli in pan with one flat side down. Add two tablespoons water and ¾ teaspoon salt. Place top on pan and heat on high for about four minutes

Make the dry topping. Mix seeds, yeast, lemon zest, paprika and salt with mortar and pestle or in spice grinder. Put about ⅓ topping on large flat plan/serving dish.

Check broccoli, using spatula to press pieces that weren’t touching the pan to touch pan. Put top back on and steam another 4-6 minutes. Remove from heat and flip onto second flat side. Return to heat and cook, 3-5 minutes, uncovered, until both flat sides are browned.

Transfer to topping-covered platter. Sprinkle remaining topping over the broccoli and serve.