As many of us have learned since the age of six, broccoli isn’t so “icky.” Actually, it’s pretty amazing. It tastes just as good raw (unlike many of its counterparts) as it does sautéed, blanched, or roasted.

A few things you should know about broc. There are ways to optimize what and how you work with the verdant vegetable.

1. When you’re picking out the perfect little flowers, make sure no yellow leaves have sprouted. Also, stick your nose in there and make sure nothing smells funky.

2. To ensure you get the best mileage out of your broccoli, fill a glass with a little water and place the broccoli in stalk down. Lightly cover the florets with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.

3. Use your broccoli, use alllll of it. That means the stems too.  When you’re adding it to a dish, make sure to thinly slice the stems and start cooking them about two minutes before the rest. They are super flavorful and shouldn’t go to waste because they’re not as pretty as their cousins up north.

Now you may think broccoli is an all year time of veggie and it is, but when you’re sitting at home not wanting to brave the cold with a walk to a restaurant, fish out your properly stored broccoli and get cooking. In actuality you can do so much with broccoli, you can probably cook it a different way every night of the week without getting tired of it…we think. Here are a few recipes to help get you started.

Recipes:

Broccoli Leek Soup

Angel Hair Pasta with Broccoli and Herb Butter

Broccoli Gratin

Broccoli and Wild Mushroom Casserole

IMAGE CREDITS: Broccoli_bunches, broccoli-mushroom-casserole, broccoli gratin, brocangelthmb