            Recipes > Ingredient Archive > Broccolette 
Choosing organic broccolette is your guarantee that it’s been grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides — a healthier choice for you and for the environment. Organic veggies like our broccolette have been raised in soil that actually becomes more fertile as it’s cultivated season after season with sustainable organic farming methods. We think organic tastes better, too!  • Broccolette and Potato Frittata • Broccolette with Olives and Capers • Lemon Couscous with Broccolette and Arugula • Salmon and Broccolette Superfood Salad • Spaghetti with Broccolette and Ricotta • Stir-Fried Broccolette and Cashews • Sweet Chili Chicken with Broccolette and Noodles • Warm Broccolette Salad
Long, slender, and elegant, broccolette’s juicy green stalks are topped with clusters of tiny florets. Its stalks are sweeter and less fibrous than those of its bigger cousin; they’re completely edible and don’t require peeling. Its fresh flavor is similar to asparagus, but with an intriguing hint of pepper and mustard, and none of broccoli’s cabbage-y flavor. Broccolette is as versatile as broccoli and is absolutely delicious steamed, stir-fried, roasted, or raw. The only limitation is your imagination! Available year-round. Look for slim, vibrant green stalks that are firm and crisp; the heads should have tightly closed buds. Although it’s a bit more expensive per pound than broccoli, broccolette is completely edible from stem to flower, so there’s no waste. Once home, store unwashed broccolette in the refrigerator in a ventilated plastic bag for up to 14 days. Refrigeration slows the conversion of sugar to lignin, a type of fiber that makes a vegetable woody, and also helps to protect its vitamin C content. Broccolette is wonderfully convenient — the entire stalk is edible, from stem to florets. It requires little or no prep, just rinse under cold water and pat dry with towels. If the stems look dry at the cut end, trim about 1/2 inch off the bottom. Be careful not to overcook its small, slender stems. Broccolette should remain juicy and crunchy for most recipes, so it requires a shorter cooking time than its larger cousin. As a general rule, if broccolette stalks are thicker than a pencil, it’s best to cut the spears in half lengthwise so the stems and florets will cook in the same amount of time. One cup of broccolette (about 8 stalks) contains only 35 calories. Broccolette provides 130% of the daily recommended requirement for vitamin C, as well as significant amounts of calcium, fiber, and vitamin A. |
It’s not all that often that a new vegetable becomes mainstream, but that’s exactly the case with one of Earthbound Farm’s newest offerings: Broccolette, a member of the cruciferous family that looks like miniature broccoli. Similar to “broccolini” and “baby broccoli” (tradenames for varieties owned by other growers), broccolette is a hybrid cross between broccoli and gai lan (Chinese kale).