Monday, February 8, 2010

Rescuing Frozen Broccoli

When treated badly frozen broccoli will punish you with soft stems, mushy tops, and a dull, gray-green color. When treated right, that same frozen broccoli will show you it's best, bright green color and al dente texture. But how to do it?

I found the answer one lovely day while reading the suggested cooking method on a package of frozen stir-fry veggies. The basic gist was this: make your pan super hot, add the frozen veggies, and stir fry until they were crisp-tender. I was amazed, and slightly dubious. Until then I'd only steamed frozen veggies, and used them only when I had to because the texture was always--lacking. I made the stir-fry as directed and it was really good. They weren't like fresh veggies, of course, but they were definitely good. I immediately tried it with plain frozen broccoli and got the same great results. This was a very good discovery :)


Rescuing Frozen Broccoli

1 package frozen broccoli florets (any size bag; a 16 oz bag is shown)
1/2-1 teaspoon kosher salt (depends on the size bag you use)
fresh Parmesan cheese for serving, if desired

1. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the frozen broccoli, and cook, stirring often, until the the color starts to turn bright. You'll get the perfect amount of steam from the broccoli being frozen.

2. Add the salt and cook, stirring very often to avoid burning, until the broccoli's color is uniformly bright and the texture al dente, and there are no cold spots. Remove from the heat and serve with the Parmesan, if desired.

Unbelievably easy, and amazingly good. Now you'll want to always have broccoli in your freezer, and better still, you're going to want to use it! :)

7 comments:

  1. Great discovery! I totally agree, broccoli can look so unappetizing once it's finished cooking. unfortunately for me, hubby doesn't like it tender crisp, he likes it mushy. YUK

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  2. Great information.thank you-:)
    i did it the wrong way befor, by steaming my frozen broccoli for 5min and it still came out hard.

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  3. thankyou for this!
    I was a little iffy about boiling it because wouldn't it get soggy?
    This whole put it in a pan philosophy sounds so much better!
    Here I come for you "frozen vegetable medley".

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  4. This is great advice! I'm going to try and see. Here in MI it can really impossible to get fresh veggies in the winter so we must rely on frozen or canned. I've always hated how frozen broccoli tasted (mushy and bland, ick!) but this sounds promising. Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment! Frozen broccoli can definitely be yucky, but I've had repeated success cooking it this way. Good luck and enjoy! :)

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  5. Worked really well, thanks! My broccoli had a lot of ice around it, so I drained off some of the water.

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  6. YUM! This makes frozen broccoli much more palatable, and it is so easy! Thank you very much! The ice melts so it kind of steams and sautes at the same time.

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