Pan Fried Perfect Broccoli

My opinion of broccoli can go either way. There is nothing about it that makes me think, oh hey, let's have some broccoli. Green beans though, those are a different story... back to broccoli. When searching around the other day for recipes, I found this recipe:

Perfect pan-fried broccoli

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp. table salt (heaping if you like a lot of salt)

1/8 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional, or use 1/4 tsp. for less spicy)

1-2 Tbs. garlic, minced (optional)

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 3/4 – 2 pounds broccoli (about 2 medium bunches) florets cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces, stems trimmed and cut on bias into 1/4-inch-thick slices or “flowers” about 1 1/2 inches long (about 5 cups florets and 3 cup stems)

1. Stir water, salt, and pepper together in small bowl until salt dissolves; set aside. In 12-inch nonstick skillet with tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium-high heat until just about to smoke. Add broccoli stems and cook, without stirring, until browned on bottoms, about 5 minutes. Add florets, red pepper flakes, and garlic (if using) to skillet and toss to combine; cook, without stirring, until bottoms of florets just begin to brown, 1 to 2 minutes longer.2. Add water mixture and immediately cover skillet; cook until broccoli is bright green but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until water has evaporated, broccoli stems are tender, and florets are tender-crisp, about 2 minutes more.

It sounded good so when I was grocery shopping at Trader Joe's, I picked up a bag of organic precut florets. (Normally I don't buy precut anything because it is more expensive but when I checked the price of the whole head per pound verses the precut, they were the same price. Whohoo, less work for me!)

Night #1:
Since I was using only florets, I skipped the stems section. Also when my pan was heated, I added a little bacon fat for flavor. Once it melted, I added the florets, the crushed red pepper and garlic (in that order). Tossing to coat, I cooked them according to the directions above. I topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

They tasted awesome but were pretty spicy. The cheese made a great pairing.

Night #2:
I added the bacon fat to the pan then heated it. I added the garlic then the broccoli. Since the fat was already hot, the garlic and broccoli to get browned very quickly. I also must have used less red pepper flakes because the broccoli wasn't as spicy as the night before. I did everything else the same however the broccoli was a little too crunchy for me (perfect for my husband). I should have added the fat, broccoli, garlic and red pepper (in that order) to the pan after it was fully heated. Again, I served with shaved Parmesan cheese on top.

Overall, great recipe. I am already looking forward to having broccoli again.