Broccoli Bust

If you’ve grown broccoli, you know what waste of space it can be. I persist in growing it because it’s one of my kids favorite vegetables, and the homegrown stuff is truly delicious. But even when I do everything perfectly, and get a good sized head, I am still annoyed at how big the plant gets and how much of it is leaf. When I do some one thing wrong (frequently) and get just a little button head out of that ginormous space hogging bunch of leaves, I am pissed.

So, I have learned to use the leaves. They are much tougher than collards, and a bit stronger flavored, but perfectly edible if cooked long enough. The best way I have found to cook them is in the classic Southern style– boil the daylights out of ’em, and add plenty of bacon.

When we lived in New Orleans, one of my favorite places to pick up dinner was a local fast food joint called Voodoo Barbecue. They had great barbecue, but my favorite thing on the menu was the Collard Greens. Very post-modern, and surely not a healthy vegetable side, their collards were cooked until velvety soft and nearly brown, mixed with a nearly equal portion of pork (ham hocks?), the whole heap resting in a soupy, ambrosial broth.

I have discovered that this is the perfect thing to do with broccoli greens. Simply par-boil the leaves for 10 minutes, fry up some onions and bacon, mix it all together and barely cover with broth, then simmer for at least an hour, preferably two. Garden efficiency and down home goodness all rolled into one!