Sauteed Broccolini

I have been daydreaming about sauteed broccolini.  It is my go-to weeknight or weekend veggie side.  Suitable for two and easily doubled or tripled for eight to ten.  These sauteed broccolini are a little snazzier than your usual veggie side given the touch of soy sauce, butter, sea salt and red pepper flakes.  Yet, they are quite simple and quick to make.

I feel particularly drawn to them today because I haven’t been able to saute vegetables in quite some time due to an unfortunate storm known as Sandy.  We were without power and heat for a week!  Granted, there are some that are sitting without power or a home right now, so I still count us incredibly lucky.

But thankfully our power came back.  Just in time because the temperature dropped to about 20 degrees (phew!).  Last night, I literally felt like I had checked into the Ritz after an 8 week long back-packing trip.  I got sheer joy out of hearing the dishwasher and dryer running in my own home.  I could have watched anything on television. And we ordered a pizza and luxuriously lounged on our old couches. Laziness at its best.

But I wanted to make sure to cook some yummy little green tree scrumptiousness tonight before the next storm hits on Wednesday—and we lose power again.  And what else am I supposed to do while I wait for the votes to come in???!??

Sauteed Broccolini

Author: Julie du Pont

Prep time:  1 min

Cook time:  8 mins

Total time:  9 mins

Serves: 4-6  

Sauteed broccolini with a touch of butter and soy sauce

Ingredients

• 1½ – 2 tbsp butter
• 2 bunches of broccolini, ends trimmed
• ¼ cup of water
• 1-2 tsp of good soy sauce
• Sprinkling of sea salt, paprika, red pepper flakes and ground pepper

Instructions

1. Heat butter on medium high heat until sizzling.
2. Add broccolini to pan and saute for 3-4 minutes until butter coats the broccolini.
3. Add water and cover pan to steam broccolini for another 3-4 minutes.
4. Remove cover and add soy sauce and spices. Saute for an additional minute.
5. Transfer to serving dish and immediately serve.

Julie du Pont is a Darien resident, mom and lawyer.  She blogs about food and entertaining at Weekend Table.