DEPARTMENT:

Since we celebrate all things green in the month of March, to honor St. Patrick’s Day, I thought we should talk about everyone’s favorite green vegetable: broccoli!

Hands down, broccoli is the most nutritious vegetable you can find in any produce department. Most of the good stuff is found in the florets rather than the stalks, but you can eat as much of the stalks as you want. I also think that broccoli looks like tiny, baby trees, green and healthy from sun and water and growing in the good earth. So, that’s what you need to look for when choosing it. The brighter the green, the better it is.

Julie’s Favorite Asian Steamed Fish & Broccoli 1½–2lbs Whole Fish (Clean it first) 1 lb. steamed broccoli (Steam it first, about 4–5 minutes) 3 Whole Shallots—Sliced thin 3 tablespoons—thinly sliced ginger (for more on ginger, see February’s issue) 2 Stems Chinese parsley with root—Cut into 1 inch pieces 2 whole stems of green onions (scallions) chopped into 1 inch pieces 1 tablespoon (rock salt (kosher salt) 3 tablespoons of Oyster Sauce (Any brand) 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pat fish dry and lay flat on 12 inches of foil. Sprinkle with rock salt, inside and outside. Splash olive oil and oyster sauce on fish. Spread the shallots, ginger, onions and parsley. evenly over the fish. Cover fish with additional foil and fold the ends (making a package to steam). Place package on cookie sheet or other baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the foil puffs up! Place steamed broccoli around the fish and season to taste. Serves 4 people.

Once home, wash the broccoli just before using it, and toss out the very outer layer of the stems…too woody. The best way to prepare broccoli is to steam it, to keep the good stuff in, or to munch on it raw. Add it to your salad, or dip raw broccoli in a low-fat honey mustard dressing and serve as healthy, low-calorie pupus.

Broccoli contains a ton of beta-carotene and vitamin C that are both anti-oxidants which may contribute to lessening the development of cataracts, heart disease and some cancers. It also is fiber-rich, made up of both insoluble and soluble fibers, which is really important as your body is in need of both.

And another good thing, broccoli is a very valuable source of calcium, which we need to protect our bones, and it is noted that calcium may reduce some risk of colon cancer and actually help in lowering blood pressure.

So, with all that, here is a simply scrumptious, healthy, and authentic recipe for you to try, containing of course, this month’s secret ingredient.

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