Hello sweet friends! I thought you might need a delicious and healthy recipe today like this wonderful Broccolini with Lemon and Pine Nuts, after all the treats yesterday! Did you have a fun Halloween? We sure did! The weather was perfect and the neighborhood was full of cute kids trick or treating. We LOVE Halloween and my boys had a very successful night, coming home with loads of candy! Before we turned them loose on the neighborhood, I served witches brew (root beer with dry ice) and my favorite Lumberjack Chili with Buttermilk Cornbread (and Grandma’s honey butter, of course)! I forgot how much I love those recipes and they are easy to pull together too. You need to make them both on your next cold and blustery day! The chili recipe makes a lot so I froze enough for another dinner in the future. I love to cook once and eat twice, don’t you agree?!
Alright, now to get back to this awesome side dish! Have you ever had broccolini? ” This lanky vegetable is a hybrid; first created in 1993, it’s a cross between broccoli and Chinese broccoli. It has small florets, long stalks, and a few small leaves — all of which are edible. Compared to the bitter flavor of regular broccoli, Broccolini is more mild, with a sweet, earthy taste.” (google search). I love broccolini, but if you can’t find it, then you can absolutely substitute broccoli for this recipe.
When I have basil available in my herb garden, I like to add it right at the end, but you could leave it off and it is still wonderful with the lemon and garlic. Also, if you don’t have pine nuts, substitute slivered almonds or leave them off all together. Grated Parmesan cheese is a great option too! I did not use it on the broccolini pictured below, but it is a delicious addition! Eating a lot of vegetables is very important for good health, and recipes like this make it so much easier! ENJOY!
Broccolini with Lemon and Pine Nuts
Ingredients
- 1 pound Broccolini
- 1 tsp olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 garlic clove, minced or sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 TB lemon juice
- 1 TB pinenuts, toasted
- 1 TB julienned fresh basil (optional)
- 1 TB grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Steam the broccolini stalks in a steamer rack over boiling water until just tender and bright green – about 3-4 minutes(or simply in the boiling water if you don’t have a steamer). Once the broccolini is cooked, remove from steamer and plunge into ice cold water, or run under cold running water in a sieve. This is to stop the cooking any further.
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan, then add the garlic for 20 seconds.
- Next add the broccolini. Toss the them well in the hot oil to warm them through for 1-2 minutes, adding a pinch of salt and pepper and the lemon juice.
- Finally, pile the Broccolini onto a serving platter, and top with the toasted pine nuts, basil and grated parmesan cheese (if using).
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