I ate five cups of broccoli the other day. Five cups! By noon, I hit my daily fiber requirements, and I'm pretty sure that my skin turned a light shade of green. As crazy as it may seem, I just couldn't leave this steamed broccoli alone. It was that good and didn't even meet the bare minimum requirements for the term "easy". In fact, I am almost embarrassed to post the recipe. Steam broccoli, add lemon zest, pepper and salt, and eat. See what I mean?
It was a little birdie on my shoulder (you know, the hallucinogenic one that appears after you consume five cups of cruciferous vegetables) that insisted that I post the recipe. It reminded me how non-plussed I become after multiple nights of steamed broccoli, and that maybe everybody would appreciate a little variation on the theme.
In other words, the birdie made me do it.
If you are watching your sodium intake and you're eating this broccoli with a dish that's already salted, feel free to eliminate the sprinkle of salt. If you're eating it alone by the bowlful (ahem), that little sprinkle adds something special. This would be the perfect side dish for Southwestern Roasted Chicken with Cumin, Chili Pepper & Cilantro or Baked Tilapia with Pesto & Breadcrumb Crust.
The recipe:
Set a medium-sized saucepan filled with 1 inch of water over high heat, and bring the water to a boil.
Place the broccoli in a steamer basket, place inside of the saucepan (be sure the bottom of the basket does not touch the water), cover and reduce the heat to medium.
Steam the broccoli until just tender when pierced with a fork, 4 to 5 minutes.
Transfer the broccoli to a serving bowl. Add the olive oil, grate the zest of the lemon over the broccoli, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Serve.
Other healthy vegetable side dishes:
Cookin' Canuck's Spaghetti Squash with Swiss Chard, Dried Cranberries & Dijon Vinaigrette
Cookin' Canuck's Roasted Cauliflower with Indian Spices
Within the Kitchen's Healthy & Easy Ginger-Garlic Green Beans
Ring Finger Tan Line's Asian Inspired Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Lemon Pepper Steamed Broccoli Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounces about 5 cups broccoli florets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large lemon for the zest only
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon ground pepper
Instructions
- Set a medium-sized saucepan filled with 1 inch of water over high heat, and bring the water to a boil.
- Place the broccoli in a steamer basket, place inside of the saucepan (be sure the bottom of the basket does not touch the water), cover and reduce the heat to medium.
- Steam the broccoli until just tender when pierced with a fork, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Transfer the broccoli to a serving bowl. Add the olive oil, grate the zest of the lemon over the broccoli, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Yvette Fuentes
OH I thought we were the only ones to do this! We had garlic and butter and steam it together. So yummy!
Jennifer (Savor)
simple. delicious. lovely. Just like your personality. 🙂
Sasha
After changing computers I lost track of your blog for awhile. I was happy to run across it again and even happier to see the healthy recipes. Now I just need some time to check them all out. Congrats on your weight loss.
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Sasha, I'm so glad you found me again!
afracooking
Crazy - so simple, never thought of it yet it makes so much sense! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Jenny
My family loves broccoli, and so I am always trying to find new recipes ......this recipe will be a big hit to go with tomorrows dinner! I would love for you to link up this recipe to my linky party, my readers will LOVE this recipe!! http://www.fivelittlechefs.com/2013/01/fantastic-thursday-27.html
Aggie
Oh Dara, next time share some with me! I could eat 5 cups of broccoli prepared like this any day! Lemon is magical 🙂
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
This looks so fabulous!
Jeanette
We make steamed broccoli at least once a week - the kids love it simply plain or with a little garlic olive oil, salt and pepper. Love your idea of using lemon zest for a change. I make extra for omelets in the morning sometimes too. So good!
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes
I'm always on the look out for great, simple veggie recipes.
Karen Petersen
Yum, this sounds great!!!
Sue
This broccoli sounds so tasty! I need to eat five cups of it too, especially after eating the "broccoli" that I just posted;)
Asiya
I've always just had plain steamed broccoli..what a great idea! Can't wait to give this a try soon!