Delicious broccoli? When I was a child this would be such a weird phrase, impossible to be said by me. I didn’t like vegetables and broccoli was among the “worst” ones.
Today I just love vegetables and people ask me if I am vegetarian, so I like and cook them daily.
This broccoli are indeed delicious. I prepared them in a dark Autumn day and it was the perfect dish for lunch. Warm, tasty, satisfying and … a unique dish, as it has all nutritional ingredients.
I was inspired by a recipe of the wonderful SmittenKitchen blog. I modified it a bit to meet my preferences, lowering fat and using brown rice instead of wild as it is difficult to find it where I live. I have also changed the cheese. I am fond of cheese…but not for cheddar.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound broccoli (I used more)
- 2/3 cup brown rice
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp (jarred) mustard
- 1 cup milk (low fat)
- 2/3 cup chicken broth
- 6 ounces cheese (gruyere, scamorza, and fontina)
- salt
- pepper
Instructions:
- Cook the rice in salted boiling water for 18 min (or follow the instructions on the package). Drain and reserve.
- Wash broccoli and keep the florets. Cook them in salted boiling water just until cooked but not too soft. Drain and put them immediately in a bowl filled with very cold water to stop cooking and keeping the green color. Then drain.
- Turn on the oven 392°F/200°C.
- Cut the onion in thin slices. Mince garlic.
- In a small pan put butter and oil and, as soon as butter melts, add onion and garlic. Let cook until soft and lightly colored.
- Add flour and stir for a couple of minutes.
- Add milk slowly and then broth. Cook stirring for about 5 minutes or until it thickens.
- Turn off the gas and add mustard and 1/3 of the cheese. Mix well.
- Put a thread of oil into a baking dish and spread it with a kitchen brush.
- Put broccoli and rice into this baking dish and cover it all with the cheese sauce, being careful in covering everything.
- Distribute the remaining cheese on the top.
- Bake for about 20/25 minutes, or until the sauce bubbles and the cheese begins to color.
- Serve warm.
- Buon appetito!
2 Comments
Martha K
November 8, 2019 at 2:21 pmIs the mustard listed DRY mustard or jarred mustard?
Ana
November 11, 2019 at 10:47 amSorry Martha, I mean jarred mustard.