Roasted Broccoli Stems Crusted on Parm Salt with Garlic Skin Balsamic Syrup
Yield: 4 Servings
Scraps used: Broccoli stems and tomato peel.
Why: Broccoli stems are crunchy and delicious. Tossing them is a shame. This unusual side dish shows off their meaty texture and pairs them with sweet and tangy garlic-scented syrup, made from the papery garlic skins that you throw away whenever you chop garlic. Yes, you can cook with garlic skins.
The Salt: Morton® Fine Sea Salt has a flavorful nuance that, though subtle, makes a flavor boost whenever and wherever it is used. In this recipe, using a fine salt helps give you an even and maximum distribution of flavor.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon Morton® Fine Sea Salt
4 broccoli stems, about 6 inches long, tough skin peeled
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons crumbled garlic paper (the papery skin surrounding fresh garlic)
Blanch the broccoli stems: Bring 2 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon of the fine sea salt to a boil. Cut the broccoli stems into large chunks and boil just until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and toss with the oil.
Roast: Mix the Parmesan, remaining ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, and garlic powder and toss with the oiled broccoli stems. Lay out on a sheet pan and roast until the cheese begins to bubble up and brown, about 15 minutes.
Make the garlic skin balsamic syrup: Combine the garlic paper and the balsamic vinegar in a small skillet and boil over medium heat until the vinegar reduces to about ⅓ cup. Strain out and discard the garlic paper as you would bay leaves.
Serve: Put the roasted broccoli stems on a platter and drizzle with the syrup.
Garlic paper can be kept at room temperature for months after peeling to use in recipes.
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