Garlic Lemon Broccoli with Chili

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Broccoli is such an amazing ingredient to cook with. Super versatile and can be prepared in so many different, delicious ways. This dish is one of our all-time favorite preparations of the mighty Broccoli. Our classic Garlic Lemon Broccoli with Chili

A delicious combination of sweet, savory, and acid, paired with a little bit of spice to keep your taste buds alive! It is a very easy recipe to make and packs a huge punch of flavor. What’s more, this recipe is super healthy for you!

Our Garlic Lemon Broccoli with Chili recipe is great as a side serving of vegetables to pair with a beautiful protein. It is also a hearty vegetarian meal. If you want to cook this recipe up for your dinner, simply double the ingredients in the recipe below and enjoy!

There are a few techniques to cook Broccoli, however for this recipe we’re going to be steam / boiling it

What we mean by steam / boiling is the Broccoli will primarily be steamed, however using about 1 cup of water in the steaming process means it’ll slightly be boiled too. So, it’s not fully steamed, and it’s not fully boiled Broccoli

The technique involves piling the chopped Broccoli florets into a large saucepan with 1 cup of boiling water. Probably about ¼ of the Broccoli will be submerged in the water, the remainder will be sitting on top. Placing the lid on top and cooking at a high temperature for 2 minutes will ultimately steam the Broccoli

At this point the Broccoli will be slightly underdone, so we can finish it off with the delicious Garlic and Lemon for the final, delicious result

We have found this method of cooking Broccoli produces the best result. It gives you that breathtakingly beautiful green color, and leaves the Broccoli lovely and crisp, yet still cooked through evenly. If you completely boil the Broccoli we’ve found you lose some of the flavor. We’ve heard kitchen rumors that purely boiling Broccoli does lose some of its nutrients too, which we don’t want!

Please do not overcook the Broccoli!

One of the most common mistakes made in the kitchen when cooking Broccoli is to overcook it. It can be quite an easy thing to do, as Broccoli goes from raw to overcooked in mere seconds. I think we can all recall a time eating Broccoli that was drastically overcooked and it is not a pleasant texture or taste

Manage the amount of heat in the dish by how many Chili Seeds you keep / discard

You can’t have a Garlic Lemon Broccoli with Chili dish without Chili now can you! There are a couple of options to ramp up the spice with Chili in this dish. The one we would recommend is using fresh Red Chilis. These are a delicious ingredient and allow you to customize how hot you want your dish to be

It all comes down to the Chili seeds. This is where all the heat lies in the Red Chilis. If you want the Broccoli dish to be fiery hot, then keep the seeds in the dish. If you’re a little cautious, but still want some spice – maybe only add a few seeds. If you want to keep it moderate, then exclude the seeds and just use the flesh

Another option for you is to include Red Chili Flakes. These are quite a powerful ingredient and can get quite spicy! Dried Chilis tend to be even more spicy than their fresh cousins. So if you like it hot, you can definitely include some Red Chili Flakes

If you’re serving this dish to a few people with varying levels of spice tolerance it is a good idea to serve a side bowl of Red Chili Flakes and exclude any from the main cooking. This way your spice-loving guests can pile the Chili on while the others can still enjoy the meal without their palates being blown up!

Adding Lemon Zest as well as Lemon Juice adds a beautiful, acidic flavor to the dish

This is a lovely little trick for those who love their Lemons like us. Instead of just adding the Lemon Juice, add the Lemon Zest. It has a much punchier flavor of lemon and adds such a brilliant burst of brightness and acidity to the dish. The best technique is to use a Lemon zester, and carefully zest away the yellow skin from the Lemon before you peel it

Be careful not to zest the white part that sits underneath the yellow zest. This is quite bitter and unpleasant to eat

Optional toppings to add to your Garlic Lemon Broccoli with Chili for some extra crunch

Texture makes good dishes great, and while the properly cooked Broccoli will have a lovely crunch to it, you have plenty of options to add even more beautiful texture to this dish

This is a totally optional step in the meal preparation however if you have a bit of time, and access to these ingredients we highly recommend giving them a try as a finishing step to the dish. Simply sprinkle over a generous portion of Chopped Peanuts, Crispy Shallots, or Toasted Breadcrumbs to the dish adds a beautiful texture and contrasting flavors to the dish

Depending on what ingredients you have available, either of these toppings will be a great addition. You can of course buy Peanuts and Crispy Shallots from the grocery store ready to go, which is great. Simply chop them up and sprinkle them over the dish

Toasted Breadcrumbs are another great option for topping your Lemon Garlic Broccoli dish. We love using Panko Breadcrumbs as they have a bit more body and texture than other breadcrumb types and hold up well to a light toasting in the frying pan. Just add a little bit of melted butter to the pan, pour in your Panko Breadcrumbs and toast for about 1 minute

Garlic Lemon Broccoli with Chili Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 large Broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 Red Chili, deseeded and finely sliced
• 4 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
• 1 Shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. Unsalted Butter
• Zest of ½ a Lemon
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• Salt
• Optional: ¼ tsp. Red Chili Flakes
• Optional: Chopped Peanuts, Crispy Shallots, or Toasted Breadcrumbs
  
  

Instructions

1. Place 1 cup of Boiling Water in a Large Saucepan over medium / high heat, then add the Broccoli with a pinch of Salt
2. Cover and steam for 2 minutes to cook the Broccoli. Strain immediately into a colander or strainer and add to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process
3. In the same pot, add Butter over medium heat until it has melted. Then add the Shallot and cook for 2 minutes, then add the Garlic and Red Chili
4. Cook for a further 1 minute until the Garlic is fragrant. Return the Broccoli to the saucepan and cook for 1 minute to re-heat the Broccoli. Stir well to cover the Broccoli with the other ingredients
5. Add the Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest, then plate the Broccoli into a large serving bowl, then add a generous sprinkle of Flaky Finishing Salt before serving
6. An optional last step is to add your crunchy element on top of the Broccoli such as chopped Peanuts, Crispy Shallots, or Toasted Breadcrumbs
   
   

Note: This recipe is for a serving of 2 people. If you are cooking for 4 people, simply double the ingredient amounts. Cooking times will remain the same

You can serve this dish with additional Red Chili Flakes if you want to add more spice. This is a great option if your diners have mixed levels of spice tolerance. Those who want more spice can simply add Chili Flakes to their dish

We hope you’ve enjoyed this Garlic Lemon Broccoli with Chili Recipe. It is a super simple dish to make, is healthy, and most importantly of all, it tastes delicious!

Great Recipes to pair with the Garlic Lemon Broccoli with Chili dish

We love this Broccoli dish as a side serving of vegetables to pair with some of these amazing recipe:

• Pork Chop Milanese with Parmesan Crust
• Hanger Steak Frites
• Crispy Sweet and Sour Pork
• Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
• Chicken Parmesan
• 10 Hour Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder
  
  

So why not give them a try today and let us know in the comments below how it went

Happy Cooking!