This recipe is easy to play with. I have left out the tomatoes, beans and basil and used extra garlic and added parsley.

Broccoli with Pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1/4 cup water
1 15-ounce can cannellini (white kidney beans), drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
8 ounces orecchiette (little ear-shaped pasta; about 2 cups) or medium pasta shells
1 pound broccoli crowns, separated into small florets (about 5 cups)

3 tablespoons freshly shaved Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper; stir 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes with juices and 1/4 cup water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; boil gently until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in beans and basil. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, cook orecchiette pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Add broccoli florets; cook until pasta is just tender but still firm to bite and broccoli florets are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes longer. Ladle out 1/2 cup pasta cooking water and reserve. Drain orecchiette and broccoli florets; return to pot.

Add tomato sauce and reserved pasta cooking water to pasta and toss to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer pasta to bowl. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Nancy

I like to serve this sauce over steamed broccoli.

RIPE OLIVE SAUCE

2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped, pitted black olives
1 or 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp.pepper

Saute garlic in small saucepan over medium-low heat until golden, about 3 minutes. Do not let it brown. Add remaining ingredients and cook 1 or 2 minutes to heat olives. Pour over steamed fresh vegetables.

That recipe of Nancy's looks so good I'm going to give it a go myself, LOL!

I only know how to make the old standby, Broccoli and cheese sauce, but it always comes through.
Just for my own information, can vegetarians eat like turkey and chicken, I always thought it was just vegetables, but I've never known a vegetarian.

How about steamed broccoli with hollendaise sauce?
Blender hollendaise sauce:
3 eggs...sit in bath tub warm water for about 10 minutes to take the chill off, separate and put the yolks into the blender jar...save the whites for another use.
2 Tbsps fresh lemon juice..add to jar and blend for a few seconds.
Pinch of cayenne in the egg yolks
1/2 cup butter, heated until bubbley but not browned.
With the blender running pour the very hot butter through the hole in the lid. Blend a few seconds and serve immediatly.
Leftovers may be reheated over hot water.
I swear that's the best way to serve broccoli!
Linda C

LOWFAT BROCCOLI-WALNUT SALAD

1 bunch broccoli (1 1/2 lbs.)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 Cup dried cherries, or golden raisin/dried cherry mixture

BUTTERMILK DRESSING

1/2 C lowfat buttermilk, chilled and well shaken
2 T light mayo
1 T cider vinegar
1 t sugar
1/4 t salt
1/2 C toasted walnut pieces

1. Cut broccoli into florets. Peel tough stalks, and cut them crosswise into 1/4" thick slices.

2. Steam broccoli for 3 minutes; immediately rise with cold water to chill; drain well. Toss broccoli with onions and cherries.

3. Whisk dressing ingredients except walnuts in small bowl. Toss with broccoli mixture. Sprinkle with walnuts right before serving.

DONNA

See my recipe for Broccoli Salad with Dried Cherries posted on the Lighter Side today.

Barbara

Steamed Broccoli with Browned Butter Breadcrumbs
(Sara Moulton)

1 to 1 1/2 pounds broccoli florets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 slices firm white bread, crusts removed
6 tablespoons butter

Place the broccoli florets in a vegetable steamer basket.

Pour about 3/4-inch water into a large saucepan. Place the steamer basket in the pan, bring the water to a simmer over medium-high heat, and cover. Steam for 5 minutes, or until the broccoli is crisp-tender. Transfer to a serving bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, place the center of the bread into a food processor and pulse to make bread crumbs. In a small saucepan, heat butter on medium high until butter turns a nutty brown color. Add the bread crumbs and toss in the butter. Pour the buttered crumbs onto the broccoli and toss to coat.

NOTES :
I added chopped garlic to it and I put the steamed broccoli in the saute pan with the breadcrumbs and tossed it together.

I love all kinds of different broccoli recipes. I like the broccoli and pasta recipe above, that sounds like a great way to have broccoli as a main event for us.

The way my family seems to like it best is quite simple. Lightly steam the broccoli pulled into florets until it is hot but still a little bite to it, then serve it with a rich cheese sauce to put over it.

Thanks to everyone!

I am copying and pasting all of these recipes.

I ended up making Ruthanna's Olive sauce. Very good! We all loved it! I added a little bit of chopped red pepper for color, since I had some. Nice flavor combination!

Changeling, I think there are different levels of vegetariansism. Sarah doesn't eat meat, but she will do eggs, dairy, things made with broth, etc. It seems it' a texture thing with her regarding meat.

Linda

Linda, a friend sent this over while Mom was in hospice. I hate broccoli, but this was really good and has substance to it. Low cal it is not.

Broccoli corn casserole
Serves 12

16 oz broccoli
2 cans creamed corn
2 T chopped onion
6 T melted butter
2 beaten eggs
S & P to taste

Topping:
2 c stuffing cubes
1 stick butter

Mix corn, onion, egg, butter, and s & p. Add broccoli and pour into a buttered casserole. Top with croutons that have been mixed with melted butter. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or less

Okay...making note that Peppi hates broccoli.

Too late for your dinner, but I made broccoli last night (to have with grilled Ahi tuna), and I made a marinade and sauce for both which included Korean spicy bean paste, Korean chili paste, lime juice, sesame oil, ginger paste, soy sauce, and black vinegar. I thickened the sauce with potato starch and served it over the broccoli, which I then sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. I served the tuna with sautéed King Mushrooms {{gwi:1491473}}
sliced horizontally. These mushrooms have a meaty flavor that complements the tuna very well.

Lars

Thanks for the 'heads up' on Lar's wonderful picture, you-know-who. Ahem.

Dang those look too good to put in a single orifice (oral that is).

Those look good, Lars. Are they hard to find?

I have mushroom envy.

I have a headache! This is an Advil moment for me :)

Very hard, Maggie, LOL!

LOL, Jessy!

A great alternative to the usual steamed brocoli is to roast it. Peel the skin from the thicker stems, half or quarter the thickness of the stems keeping a nice long "flower", toss them in olive oil, spread them out on a pan and put in a hot oven turning them a few times. After about ten minutes (tender with a little snap), I crank up the broiler and put a bit of color on them. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and maybe a tiny bit of butter- yum!

michaelp

Similar to Michaelp's: sauté broccoli in hot olive oil/butter mix for five or six minutes, then sprinkle with salt. It's like popcorn - can't stop eating it. Kids love it.

Sherry

I made this on saturday night for a dinner party and everyone loved it...it actually came out quite fluffy. It is from www.razzledazzlerecipes.com. What was better I din't have to use up valuable space in oven!!

Broccoli Souffle

2 pounds frozen chopped broccoli
1 can cream of celery soup, undiluted
1 cup real mayonnaise
3 tablespoons grated onion
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Ritz crackers, crushed
1 stick margarine, melted

Cook broccoli; drain and cool.

Mix soup, mayonnaise, onion, egg and cheese and add to cooled broccoli. Put in a lightly greased 3 1/2 quart crockpot.

Mix 1 stack Ritz or buttery crackers with margarine. Put on top.

Cook on high for 2 to 3 hours.

Heidi