One of the advantages to shopping at farmers' markets is that the produce isn't stripped of its delicious leaves. Take the broccoli pictured above, for example. You'd be hard pressed to find this much stalk with the leaves attached in most grocery store produce departments. This is also true for many other vegetables, including beets, turnips, celery, radishes, and cauliflower. And yet the leaves are often just as edible and delicious and nutritious as the vegetable itself!
I'm not sure why many grocery stores chop off vegetable leaves and tops. Perhaps because the leaves tend to wilt, therefore make it difficult to display for too long on grocery store shelves. Or maybe it has to do with cooking trends, and people cooking less with beet tops and radish leaves. Thank goodness that's changing!
In the case of this broccoli, the stalk is delicious and should not be rejected for the more popular florets. Go for as much stalk as possible when purchasing your broccoli. I love snacking on them raw, just peel and slice and you have a sweet, crunchy treat. No dip necessary! The leaves are delicious, too, and can be treated much like kale. They're also good raw, but perhaps a little strong for some, so try adding them to a stir fry
My new favorite invention is to bake them like you would for kale chips. Just cut off the leaves, toss with a little olive oil and sea salt and roast in a 375 degree oven (I did the tray above in my toaster oven) until they start to crisp. Start checking them after 4 or 5 minutes or when you start to hear popping sounds. Watch carefully as they can get too brown rather quickly (a little brown around the edges is good, though). You may have to remove the smaller leaves first and return the pan to the oven for the larger leaves to finish up. The leaves are crunchy and sweet, with an occasional hit of broccoli-esque bitter. Delicious!
Related: How to Cook Broccoli
(Images: Dana Velden)
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I love the broccoli stalk and I actually dislike the florets (I don't like the texture which reminds me of styrofoam).
I would love a list from Kitchn on which veggies, if any are NON-safe, non edible as I often cook the main vegetable part but eat the rest raw.
We slice up broccoli stalks and put them in soup with the rest of the vegetables! And we have a pet rabbit whose favorite treat is broccoli leaves.
My favorite part of the broccoli is the stalk!
We pan fry stalk slices in small amount of veggie oil for about a minute and then add in the florets for a minute then add a bit of chicken broth into the pan, cover and let them both steam in pan for five minutes on a lowered heat. They both taste delicious but the stalks seem to be even more flavorful than the florets.
I started grating the stalks when I found a recipe for broccoli slaw. It's pretty easy and forgiving, and a great use for those who haven't figured out what to do with the stalks: http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/05/broccoli-slaw/
And if you don't have buttermilk or mayo on hand? I improvised and used milk + vinegar + some sour cream and it turned out lovely. Bon appetit.
I have a 'soup box' in the freezer where I put shredded leaves and diced stalks and stuff. Whenever I make a pot of soup I empty the soup box into the pan with the mirepoix.
Our dog Mr. Buddy, LOVES the stems. He thinks he has hit the jackpot! He normally chews on them for a bit he may bury it along the fence. Either way = compost :)
Last year at the farmers market it suddenly dawned on me that you could eat the leaves (beet greens) from a bunch of beets. It's like buy beets, get beet greens free. Up until that moment I had been yanking off the greens and throwing them in the trash to maximize space in my tote.
I once had a side of swiss chard stalks at a favorite restaurant in Brooklyn and it inspired me to recreate it as my swiss chard in agrodolce. Now the stems don't go to waste and they are delicious!
A nice fresh broccoli stalk is nice and sweet- if it's a tender new floret it can be as sweet as peas!
The other day I made a green soup with radish greens, and sliced the radishes themselves for a sandwich to go with it!
http://flic.kr/p/bN5zRT
@emmi: list of the veggies that are safe to eat the whole plant, pretty well all of them except rhubarb leaves which are toxic, and the leaves of the tomato family (peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, etc) which contain compounds that are poisonous.
Can't really think of any others that are not safe as I regularly eat carrot greens (put in soup), raddish leaves, beet tops, pea shoots, cauliflower leaves, celery leaves, stalks of parsley and cilantro and other herbs chopped fine, broccoli stalks and leaves, garlic scapes (the flower stems), and the darker green parts of leeks, mostly from my own garden.
What's really funny, is that chard (aka Swiss chard) is exactly the same plant as beets, Beta vulgaris, just bred for the leaves and not the root. Perpetual spinach is also another form of this vegetable bred for smaller green leaves.
Wow, LLF, I didn't realise that chard & beets were the same plant. Very cool.
In her "Everlasting Meal," Adler suggests saving your broccoli stalks, cauliflower core, kale stems, etc. and making what she calls a "pesto" out of them. Basically, you cook them until very tender with some garlic in a small amount of water with some olive oil, then puree and mix with parmesan. We eat it on pasta, but she also suggests serving it as a side dish or a spread for bread.