Broccoli Leaves

Sound enticing to anyone? I've yet to try them myself, but I've been made aware that in many other cultures they don't just harvest the heads and florets and then let the rest of the plant go to waste. At Cure, we had part-time help from a few Mongs and I can remember Anne telling us that after our broccoli harvests they would occasionally come in and take the leaves off the plants before we tilled them under. I imagine these bitter, fibrous leaves have some real potential (and great nutritional value!) if prepared and seasoned correctly. Soup also seems like it would be a good medium for this underused veggie, especially hearty wintertime versions. I'll be bringing some bunched Broccoli Leaves with me to our next market in case anyone's feeling creative.

STEP 1 - Prep and Par Boil

1. Separate green leaves from white stalks. Discard stalks.
2. Tear leaves into 4 -5 cm pieces.
3. Put leaves in a pot of cold water, covering by about 4 cm of water.
4. Bring leaves to a boil, then remove immediately from heat.
5. Pour off hot water and rinse leaves in cold water to stop cooking process.
6. Drain thoroughly and pat leaves dry.

STEP 2 - Cook Leaves

1. Rough chop drained leaves.
2. Fine chop of couple of cloves of garlic.
3. Splash a liberal amount of olive oil in a fry pan (or wok) and add garlic.
4. Heat garlic until soft. (Note: Don't burn garlic or it becomes bitter. If you do burn it, discard garlic and oil and start again).
5. Add leaves and cook over a medium-high heat about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks. For softer leaves, add a bit of broth (or water) and cover while cooking.
6. Salt and Pepper to taste, then serve. If it's a bit juicy, use bread to mop up remaining sauce.

Additions:

Add red chillis, panchetta, bacon, peppers, crushed tomatoes, etc. for variations. You can also reduce frying time slightly, then cover with Parmesan cheese and bake in oven until cheese melts. (Credit: Charlie Parisek from forums at DiscussCooking.com)

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Also, I found this picture of Stuffed Broccoli Leaves on a blog called Mountain Harvest Basket. There's no recipe but if you scroll down to the picture you can see that she compares them to a cross between greek dolmas and stuffed cabbage leaves. Sounds awesome and they look pretty tasty too!

Finally, here's a link to several broccoli leave recipes from South Shoreganics. If any of you do decide to cook up some of these greens, please let me know how they turn out!