I got home from work an hour late last night, and was gobbling down a quick salad for dinner when I started thinking about what I would write in my French Fridays for Dorie post. And then I realized I hadn't made the recipe yet! I had planned on making it on Tuesday, and we had so many leftovers from the weekend, that I didn't end up having to cook anything all week! So I had to make this dish after Zumba on Thursday night, or this was going to be a late post! I'm not good with determining weight, so I'm not really sure how much broccoli I made. I used two small crowns, the amount that would fit in the steam tray of my rice cooker. I love steaming vegetables in my rice cooker, I just put in the water, hit the steam button, and set a timer. Since I wasn't exactly prepared to make this recipe, I did some tweaking. I cut back the butter by 1 tablespoon, I don't like using so much butter. I didn't have 3 small garlic cloves, but I did have one large clove and one small clove. And I didn't have a lemon to zest, so I just squeezed a little lemon juice in after the butter and garlic cooked. FYI, in case you ever make the same sub I did, the lemon juice made this really start to sizzle, it may have burned if I hadn't been watching it closely after I put it in. I also didn't have any fresh parsley or mint, so I just added the crumbs, salt, and pepper next. And after toasting I turned the broccoli into the dish.
I snapped a quick picture, then called Mr. Hobby into the kitchen to try the late night snack. It was delicious! Tasted just like fried vegetables. I plan to do this with zucchini this summer. I think it is healthier than frying, but these things can be tricky. Which is worse, three tablespoons of butter and breadcrumbs, or breadcrumbs (with an egg white adhesive) then dipped in oil? So my question, for those in the nutrition know, is this better or worse than frying?
Maybe someone else will have the answer on their FFwD post. Check out what the other FFwD bloggers were up to this week.
Ha! I love how you estimated your amounts. Whenever I use frozen vegetables, I always estimate because veggies go pretty quickly in my house! I think that's what makes this dish rather fun. It's seems difficult to mess it up!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great late night snack! I don't know which is worse. I'm looking fwd to reading the other comments of smart nutrition people!
ReplyDeleteThis is my kind of snack! I love the idea of trying it with zucchini~
ReplyDeleteOooh, love your zucchini idea! I used lemon juice, as well, and I remember the sizzle. :) Your broccoli looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how much broccoli I ended up using - when it looked like I didn't have enough crumbs, I just threw in some more at the end... But that is half the fun of cooking, right?
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed!
I knew I definitely had more crumbly topping than necessary for my broccoli leaves, but I don't regret overdoing it that much. I miss my Zumba classes!
ReplyDeleteYou're right - these bread crumbs would be great with zucchini!
ReplyDeleteYour blog layout is beautiful! I had to laugh when you said you we're great with weights of things, because I'm not either! I used 2 crowns of broccoli as well - so, we must both be right! One of the biggest challenges of blogging, for me, is to record accurate measurements so people can re-create my recipes. Your broccoli looks great.
ReplyDeleteI didn't weigh my broccoli either, and I basically threw in my breadcrumbs by the fistful, as much as I wanted to eat! LOL. As for the health aspect, have you thought about using olive oil instead of butter?
ReplyDeletePost if you try the zucchini variation please.
ReplyDeleteI agree this topping would be great on zucchini, actually on most kinds of vegetables. What a perfect snack!
ReplyDeleteI didn't get to make this dish…I'd love to try it this week…maybe as a snack! Your dish looks delicious!
ReplyDelete@everyone - thanks for your comments!
ReplyDelete@Susan - thanks! My husband helped me figure out how to turn images I love into the background.
@Mary - I'll make sure to post it when I try it, now I just need to wait for the quickly approaching zucchini season.
@Kathy - it is an addicting snack, we ended up eating most of it late last night.
I made this in two batches, so I cut back on the butter a bit. I felt that this was a healthy dish because the zest from the lemon and the garlic gave it such a wonderful flavor. Although I love fried food I have a hard time eating it these days, so it was so great to eat this dish and not think about the fat content. How great that you had enough leftovers that you didn't have to cook most of the week!
ReplyDeleteI'm the only one that weighed her broccoli... I think. :) Best 2 pounds of broccoli ever!! It was gone within minutes.
ReplyDeleteLemon juice is a good idea...I wanted more lemon flavor, but it was really good...but next time I will go for more lemon.
ReplyDeleteI didn't weigh my broccoli either, I just used the amount that I thought we could eat for dinner. I recommend trying the lemon zest some time - the flavor was amazing! This is a perfect recipe for a snack, I think.
ReplyDeleteI actually weighed my broccoli at the store...but like you it was because I was running totally late this week. So my 2 pounds was calculated AFTER work on a Friday night :) I knew the recipe sounded straight forward, and had known Nana enjoyed hers...but was still happy at how easy and how crazy yummy it was. Big winner around here.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to do it with zucchini. I bet that would be fabulous! It would be great on asparagus as well!
ReplyDeletei love when a recipe inspires you to try it with different ingredients. sign of a true cook!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite way of eating broccoli is steamed then seasoned w lime juice :) I used olive oil instead of butter, and for oven frying with breadcrumbs I think its best to lightly spray with vegetable oil instead of dipping in oil.
ReplyDeleteIf you only used 1 tablespoon of butter, I think that would be healthier than frying. But that's just a guess. I bet the crumb-coating would be delicious with zucchini too - great idea!
ReplyDeleteI reduced the butter too, and thought it tasted great. Good idea to make this with zucchini!
ReplyDeleteLove the look of your blog. I have yet to make the Broccoli,but I do have all the ingredients for tomorrow! Looking so forward to it!
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