Using vinegar and chiles in an aggressive way is something Matt picked up from Mario, and I love it. I have a thing for acidic food in general—vinegar in particular. If you were to follow me around the kitchen at Mozza as I tasted various sauces and condiments, what you would hear most often is, “It needs salt” or “It needs acid.” This needs neither. Broccolini, also called baby broccoli, looks similar to broccoli but with longer, thinner stalks and smaller florets. It’s a hybrid between conventional broccoli and Chinese broccoli and is slightly sweeter than broccoli. We also make this dish with Romanesco, an Italian heirloom variety of cauliflower.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Cut off and discard the dry ends of the broccolini. Cut off about 2 inches from the stems; reserve the stems but keep the stems and heads separate.
Step 2
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until the oil is almost smoking and slides easily in the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the broccolini stems, season with salt, and cook them for 1 to 2 minutes until they begin to brown. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the florets, season them with salt, and cook, stirring the broccolini or shaking the pan occasionally, for about 2 minutes, until the florets begin to brown and soften. Remove the pan from the heat, add 1/2 cup of water, cover, reduce the heat to medium low, and steam the broccolini until the water is evaporated and the broccolini is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until it is golden brown, stirring frequently to prevent the garlic from burning. Turn off the heat, add the vinegar and red pepper flakes, stir to combine them with the broccolini, and let the broccolini cook with the vinegar for about 1 minute from the residual heat of the pan. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if desired. Serve warm.
