Vegetables are essential in any diet whose objective is to cover all the nutritional needs we have. The large number of options that the kitchen gives you to prepare them favors their consumption since it makes them more attractive and avoids falling into very common repetitions of the dishes.
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ToggleBroccoli, for example, is an excellent food for health and very versatile, since it allows you to make many recipes combining it with other ingredients and cooking it in many ways. For example, if you want to know how to microwave broccoli step by step and more secrets on how to cook it, we recommend that you continue reading this recipe. It is for 2 people, take 15 minutes and difficulty level is low.
The first step in this microwave broccoli recipe is to wash this vegetable. After washing, cut the broccoli into different sprigs. It is important that you peel and cut the trunk into thin slices to get the same cooking on all the pieces.
Before cooking broccoli and once it has been chopped, consider if you want to add other vegetables, such as carrots. If so, wash it, chop it up and add it to the broccoli, place it in a somewhat deep microwave-safe container or plate. Then, add all the seasonings you want: in this recipe, they are salt and pepper to taste, but you can also choose other spices such as thyme, curry or rosemary.
In this way, you will be able to enrich the flavor of broccoli. Obviously, eating it frequently can be boring, but if you decide to cook broccoli with different spices, you will find that the recipe presents novelties for the palate and is more attractive, both for you and for the diner who accompanies you in the food.
Once you have seasoned the broccoli with the spices you like the most, you will have to cook the broccoli in the microwave. To do this, cover the microwave-safe container and put it in. Let it cook at full power for about 4 minutes.
If it is frozen broccoli, the microwave cooking time will be 6 minutes, or you can defrost it earlier. In both cases, both fresh and frozen, after heating you will have to let it rest two more minutes in the microwave or, at least, still covered with the same cover.
After cooking the broccoli or while cooking in the microwave and resting, put a pan on the fire to prepare the dressing or sauce. Add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the two garlic cloves and fry them for a couple of minutes. In this way, broccoli will take on a special taste along with the condiments previously used.
The last step of this recipe with which you will know how to make broccoli in the microwave is the following: remove the garlic that you had put in the pan and add the pieces of broccoli. Skip them until you notice how they brown (about two minutes) and turn off the heat. Another option if you do not want to saute the broccoli is to use the oil that has been fried with garlic directly as a dressing on the broccoli made in the microwave.
Finally, place the vegetables on the plate to your liking. You can season broccoli with soy, vinegar, or other alternatives in addition to or instead of the oil and other spices used during the cooking of this recipe.
There is no single way that determines how to make broccoli in the microwave because each person can add condiments according to their tastes. That is why it is a recipe as simple as it is varied since it allows constantly introducing novelties.
As it is a food with so few calories, it is perfect for very light lunches or dinners. Still, you can also combine it with other products such as salmon, making it a garnish for a very healthy dish. If you want the entire dish to be vegetable, you can combine broccoli with a cauliflower and quinoa burger. In this way, you will have a suitable recipe if you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet.
The multiple health benefits of cooked broccoli make it an ideal food for any diet. It contains vitamins A and C, fiber, calcium and magnesium. It also provides vitamin K, which is an essential nutrient in the blood clotting process.
Other contributions of cooked broccoli to the human body are folic acid and several antioxidants: quercetin, which provides benefits to the heart, and others such as indole-3 carbinol (with benefits for the immune system) and sulforaphane, with positive effects against cholesterol and cancer prevention as indicated by some studies.
Cooking and consuming broccoli also helps to control weight: every 100 grams contains 34 calories, making it ideal for low-calorie diets, that is, those that are based on the restriction of daily calorie consumption to lose weight.