On the Table: Sauteed Broccoli Stems

The broccoli stems were delicious!  Like I said, if you have a recipe that only calls for broccoli florets, definitely save the stems and use them later.  The other night, I sauteed them in bacon fat and they were just fabulous. 

Next time you make bacon, save the fat from the pan.  Strain the fat through a strainer and put it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  It can be used in place of oil in all kinds of recipes.  Be forwarned, though, it definitely imparts a bacon-y flavor to whatever you are making!

To prepare the broccoli stems:

Peel or cut off the outside of the stems (you can use a vegetable peeler or a knife).  Finely dice the center part of the stem.

Put a skillet over medium heat, and add bacon fat to coat the bottom of the pan (you could also use canola oil, though the flavor would be very different).  When the pan is hot, add the diced stems into the pan.  Cook them, stirring often, until the broccoli is nice and tender.  Add in a big squeeze of honey, a few dashes of ground ginger, and a dash of cayenne pepper.  Taste and adjust seasoning (in particular, you want to make sure there is enough honey to balance the savoriness of the bacon flavor), and add salt and white pepper to taste.

Enjoy!  (Incidentally, if you actually had some bacon on hand, I would imagine that some nice crispy bacon crumbled into this dish would be delicious.)