Simple steamed broccoli with tahini sauce is one of my favorite vegetable garnishes; it is quick, easy, and ready to go. During steaming, the broccoli becomes crispy, tender, and slightly sweet. You can choose your favorite tahini for added flavor, creamy sauce, and healthy fat—I’ve provided plenty of condiments to help inspire you!
Over the past few months, I’ve shared some simple vegetable side dishes that add fiber, color, and texture to my lunches and dinners.
Vegetable garnishes can be layered and unusual, but they don’t have to be complicated. They can be simple churros, a bag of frozen cauliflower that crisps perfectly in the oven, or a simple green salad.
The steamed broccoli I will share today is one of my most reliable and simple vegetable side dishes. I often make it myself, but I also share this dish with friends. It’s a recipe that anyone can master.
Time and time again, the people in my life began to enjoy this humble green as much as I did.
Broccolini won everyone’s hearts
I’m starting to think broccoli is the most popular green food.
Plenty of people don’t like broccoli, but I have yet to meet anyone who does.
My best friend’s two kids and in-laws, my mom, almost all of my nutrition clients, and every neighbor and friend who has eaten steamed cauliflower are among the people in my life who love broccoli.
It’s not hard to understand why. The steamed cauliflower is tender and sweet. Because of its slender stem, it cooks quickly.
Broccoli is incredibly versatile: it can be steamed, roasted, or grilled, offering a variety of flavors and textures to explore.
It provides a wealth of nutrients supplied by many green and cruciferous vegetables, making it a powerhouse of health benefits.
Broccolini Nutrition
Broccoli is rich in dietary fiber, which helps regulate digestion and is suitable for heart health.
This vegetable is also a good source of iron. It contains about 7% of the RDA per serving, calcium, and magnesium and is an excellent source of vitamin A, which plays an important role in healthy vision.
Finally, cauliflower contains vitamins C and E, which have antioxidant properties – in other words, they have the potential to help boost the body’s ability to fight aging.
Baby broccoli vs. cauliflower
You may have seen cauliflower labeled “little cauliflower,” which makes it appear to be a scaled-down version.
Broccoli is a hybrid vegetable that dates back to the early 1990s. It is a cross between ordinary cauliflower and Chinese cauliflower.
The stem is longer and thinner than the stem of broccoli, with larger leaves and smaller flowers. Cauliflower also has many of the same characteristics, only without the large leaves – cauliflower leaves are usually small and will be crunchy when roasted.
How to steam broccoli
I almost never meet broccoli I don’t like. I love how crispy this vegetable is when roasted and how soft it is when marinated (preferably with lots of garlic and lemon).
This also applies to regular broccoli, where steaming is my favorite cooking method.
Steaming removes broccoli’s natural sweetness and inherent flavor. Other methods of preparing cauliflower focus on variations in seasoning or texture. I think steaming makes broccoli taste more like itself.
Let’s get started now.
Step 1: Prepare the steamer
Fill a large pot with a few inches of water and steamer attachments (bamboo or metal will do; I used a large one and a cilantro sauce pot). Boil the water.
Step 2: Steam
Steam the cauliflower until soft, 4-5 minutes. Adjust the cooking time according to how crispy or tender you like the vegetables.
Step 3: Dry and cool
When the broccoli is ready, it is essential to remove it from the heat, dry it, and cool it immediately so it does not continue to cook and become too soft or wet.
I like to line a cutting board with a large tea towel or paper towel and transfer the cooked broccoli to a lined surface.
Let the steamed broccoli cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
Step 4: Dress
Next, transfer the cauliflower to a plate, bowl, or platter. It’s time to add tahini!
Bring your tahini container to the table and drizzle it over the broccoli. I always keep my dressing on the table to add more when needed.
Tahini adds a healthy and filling fat, saltiness, and creamy texture to steamed broccoli.
Before serving, coat the broccoli in tahini and add more when you like the dish.
Tahini of choice
You can serve the steamed cauliflower as is. But with creamy tahini, it becomes tastier, more exciting, and more nutritious.
Different dressing options
Don’t like tahini? Allergic to sesame?
I’ll fix it for you. Fresh steamed cauliflower has many other condiments to choose from. Here are some suggestions:
- Simple champagne vinaigrette
- Yum sauce
- Greek vinegar
- Cashew nut and coriander sauce
- Sunflower seed
- Vegetarian yellow cheese sauce
- Cashew nut and carrot sauce
- Multi-purpose cashew cheese sauce
Meal preparation and storage
Steamed broccoli, a versatile pre-prepared vegetable, was one of the key ingredients I relied on during my internship, which sparked the idea for Vegetarian Week.
Broccoli can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days, while most tahini, with its impressive shelf life of up to a week, can be a reliable pantry staple.
Ingredients
2 medium-small or one large bunch broccolini (baby broccoli), stems trimmed
1 batch Delightfully Green Tahini Dressing, Dijon Lemon Tahini Dressing, Sweet & Tangy Orange Tahini Dressing, or another tahini dressing or salad dressing of choice
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with a few inches of water and attach the steamer attachment. Boil the water. Place the cauliflower in the steamer.
- Steam the broccoli until crisp, 4-5 minutes. Remove it from the steamer and transfer it to a baking sheet or large cutting board lined with a tea towel or paper towel. Pat the broccoli dry. Let it cool on the towel for a few minutes.
- Place the cauliflower on a plate (or in a storage container if you prepare a meal). Mix with tahini, Or put cauliflower and tahini on the table. Enjoy.
