This is broccoli as it’s done in Rome: garlic, olive oil, and lemon (almost everything—from mussels to beans to veal—can be cooked with these flavorings and called Roman-style). The first method is more familiar and perhaps a tad more reliable for beginning cooks; the second requires a bit more judgment, but it’s better. If you like, add a few anchovy fillets along with the garlic. Other vegetables you can prepare this way: almost anything—dark leafy greens like collards and kale, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, and beets, for example.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　1 head of broccoli or cauliflower, 1 pound or so, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces

　　3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

　　1 tablespoon minced garlic, optional

　　Zest and juice of 1 lemon

　　

Step 1

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Plunge the vegetable into the boiling water and cook until fairly tender, 3 to 6 minutes, depending on the size of your pieces. Drain and plunge into a bowl of ice water or run under cold water. Drain again.

　　

Step 2

Put 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is golden, about 3 minutes. Add the drained vegetable and turn the heat to high. Cook, stirring only when necessary—you don’t want the broccoli to fall apart—until the vegetable begins to brown; add the lemon zest and cook for another minute or two.

　　

Step 3

Add the remaining olive oil and the lemon juice, taste and adjust the seasoning, and serve hot or at room temperature.

　　

Alternative method

Step 4

Skip step 1. In step 2, start with 1/4 cup olive oil (and, if you like, add a dried chile). Thirty seconds after adding the garlic, add the broccoli or cauliflower and 1/4 cup water. Cover the pan. Cook, uncovering and stirring occasionally, until the vegetable is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.