You know how we all grew up and stopped overcooking our broccoli? Well, don’t you miss it just a little bit? This sauce takes our fresh, locally grown broccoli and cooks the living daylights out of it! But don’t worry- you’ll use the cooking water, too, so you won’t lose all those good nutrients. It’s a yummy, comforting sauce—delicious on pasta or polenta!
This sauce is excellent on pasta or polenta. Great with a variety of garnishes, including olives, cherry tomatoes, and/or toasted bread crumbs!
PrintBroccoli Sauce
Ingredients
Scale
- Ingredients:
- 1 large head broccoli or 2 small (about 1 ½ pounds)
- 4 cups water
- 2 tsp. salt
- ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Separate broccoli heads from stalks. Peel the tough outer edge from the stalks and dice up (roughly ½ inch cubes.) Chop the heads into small florets.
- Bring the water to a boil, then add the salt and the broccoli. Cook for about 2o minutes with the lid on. Drain the broccoli, saving the water, and transfer the cooked broccoli to a cutting board. Chop coarsely.
- In a large saucepan, saute the garlic in the oil on low for about 3 minutes, careful not to let the garlic brown. Add the coarsely chopped broccoli and saute for 5 minutes more.
- Add 1 cup of the saved broccoli cooking water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often. Break up the broccoli into smaller bits as you stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add more water as needed, ½ cup at a time, until most of the broccoli is broken up. Stir in parmesan cheese in just prior to serving. Serve hot and enjoy!