SMOKED BROCCOLI CASSEROLE WITH APPLE & QUINOA

Collage of Smoked broccoli ingredients for our SMOKED BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

Once you’ve smoked at least one head of broccoli, you’re ready to use it in this wonderfully flavorful creamy dish. Keep in mind, you can make this a vegan recipe by swapping out all the dairy products for comparable vegan ingredients.

For those looking to make this a main meal, add a protein like chicken or turkey. Simply include the pre-cooked protein when you spread the other ingredients into the prepared oven safe dish.

So, here we go with our smoke broccoli casserole with apples and quinoa.

INGREDIENTS:

You will need:

• 1 cup quinoa, washed
• 1 head of smoked broccoli, finely chopped
• 1 cup finely diced apple (like Fiji, Golden)
• 1 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/3 cup Panko
• Salt/fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk (may use coconut, almond, cashew or 2%)
• 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly oil or spray a 9×13 baking dish. In a large saucepan, add 2 cups of water and 1 cup of quinoa. Cook according to package directions. With roughly 10 minutes left to finished cook, add the diced apple. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add Panko and cook, stirring constantly, until browned (about 3 minutes); then remove from heat and set aside. Melt butter in the skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour until lightly browned. Gradually whisk in milk and cook, whisking constantly until slightly thickened. Stir in quinoa/apple mixture, smoked broccoli, 1 cup of cheese, yogurt, salt and pepper.

Quinoa, Butter, and Apples in a skillet

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Spread broccoli mixture into the prepared baking dish; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Place in oven and bake until cheese has melted and the mixture is warmed through. Sprinkle with browned Panko and serve.

Mixing all ingredients together and putting in baking dish

ADD YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITES:

This recipe can be changed to include some of your other favorites like cubed squash, grapes, cranberries. Or as mentioned earlier, you may add a protein such as chicken or turkey. Simply cook the meat separately in the oven, on the stove top, or on the grill.

You’ll love the balanced smoky flavor of the broccoli with the creaminess of the apple and quinoa. This is soon to be a Fall favorite as you adjust to the cooler temperatures.

Enjoy!

 

MARRYING FLAVORS FROM INDIA WITH SMOKED BROCCOLI

Marrying smoked Broccoli with flavors from India finished dish

So far, we’ve shown you how to cook and flavor broccoli on the gas grill using wood chunks and a direct method of cooking.  That is a very fast means of cooking and charring broccoli quickly and is convenient for most of us who own a gas grill.

My second method of cooking and wood flavoring broccoli is using a stove top smoker.  I enjoy using my Nordic Ware Kettle Stove Top Smoker as this is one little unit that packs a punch when it comes to infusing smoke flavoring.  Plus, using this process, I don’t have to babysit the smoker.  Just set it up on the stove, turn on the overhead stove vent, and come back in about 20 minutes and the broccoli will be tender and full of flavor.  That means, it’s ready for all your recipes.

Now that the broccoli is ready, I’m going to make an India-type curry using tomato, potato, onion and smoked broccoli.

Tasting Notes: I’ve only mentioned two methods of smoking the broccoli but note you can also do this on a portable grill, charcoal grill, traditional smoker and electric smoker.  You can also use a handheld food smoker if you don’t want complete penetration of the smoke vapor into the broccoli.  Note that the stove top and charcoal methods will provide the boldest smoke flavors.

 

A Tomato Sauce

 
The first thing to prepare for our curry dish is the tomato sauce that will flavor the dish along with the smoke flavors.  To start, I take two tomatoes – I’m using vine tomatoes – and dice them.  To the diced tomato, I add one teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon garam masala, ½ teaspoon cumin powder, ½ teaspoon chili powder, and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper.  This mixture needs to be mashed down which you can either do with a food processor or food masher.  Be sure the mixture is smooth as this will be the sauce or gravy type quality to our dish.

I’ve elected to use a mini food processor for my tomato mixture.  This sauce mixture can be set aside until the other vegetables are ready.

Tasting Notes: Another ingredient that I like for this sauce is and Asian garlic-chili sauce.  If you elect to go with a tablespoon of so of this ingredient, eliminate the minced garlic clove and cayenne pepper.

 

Developing a Curry

To make the actual curry contents, you can use a skillet or a Dutch oven.  I’ll be using a Dutch oven as I prefer the ease of being able to heat up the cast-enamel which retains heat well.  Be sure you are comfortable with regulating the temperature setting on the Dutch oven if you chose to use this cookware as it does retain heat well.

Place one tablespoon of safflower or olive oil in your cookware and allow to heat.  Add one small chopped onion, two cloves of garlic which you’ve minced.  Allow these to sweat and tenderize.  Be sure you don’t burn the garlic so stir often.  To this add one medium size chopped potato.  You can decide if you want the skin on for extra nutritional value or peeled.  Stir these contents well and frequently, adjusting the heat of the Dutch oven if using this cookware (I went from a medium-high setting to a low setting by the time the potato had cooked for just a few minutes).   After tenderizing the potato for a few minutes, add one head of chopped smoked broccoli.

Now add in your tomato sauce mixture stirring well.  Here’s the important part of the dish – be sure you don’t allow the mixture to dry out.  Add water intermittently as needed to maintain moisture and convection.  For those who like wine flavor infusion, you can also add about ¼ cup of red wine of your choice.


Tasting Notes: Don’t get hung up on the exact quantities of any given ingredient.  If you like spice, think about increasing the cayenne pepper or adding a garlic-chili paste to this.  You can also alter the type of chili powder used.  Use this recipe as a guide and make the end result your own.

 

A Beautiful Finish

Essentially you can have this dish cooked in 30 minutes following the 20 minutes smoking process of the broccoli.  However, I prefer to keep the pot on low and cook for a couple of hours to intensify the flavors.  Just be sure you add water as needed to keep everything moist and only in small quantities to prevent the vegetables from becoming mushy.

This is a vegan menu option but you can certainly alter the basic recipe to make this your own.  The nutritional value of these vegetables using very little oil makes it a healthy smoked alternative than traditional barbecue.

Now when you ask

Can you smoke broccoli?

Absolutely! Whether grilled, charred or smoked, this awesome vegetable favorably responds to wood-fired cooking with a rich, smoke kissed, nutty-like flavor. It’s very easy and the results are mouth-watering!  While pleasing the palate, smoked broccoli is very good for you; it is loaded with an array of vitamins and nutrients that support healthy food choices.

What’s your favorite broccoli recipe?  Leave us a comment to opine and subscribe to get all our postings on tips, techniques and recipes.  Bringing innovation to wood fired cooking with recipes, techniques and the science behind the fire, smoke, and flavor. That’s SmokinLicious®.

#chefbertandtom

CHARRED BROCCOLI SOUP!

Our Charred Broccoli soup ingredients, in the pot and finished soup

Known as the mini tree, broccoli is part of the cruciferous vegetable family that includes cabbage, Brussels sprout, cauliflower, and kale to name a few.  Broccoli is low in calories and packed with nutritional value including Vitamin K, C, folate, and potassium.

Although popular as a steamed or stir-fry vegetable, one of the great things when grilling broccoli is it doesn’t lose any nutritional value and you gain great flavor.

I’m going to give you two easy ways to bring wood flavor to broccoli using the equipment of your choice.  Then I’ll tell you how to make an easy broccoli soup that is loaded with hearty flavors of the wood fire.

 

Gas Grill Method

One of the benefits of using a gas grill is the heat level control and speed at which the grill can do what you want.  For this method of grilling, I’ll first get four wood chunks from SmokinLicious® in the double filet size and place on one of the grill’s heat shields.  This will be the easy way of adding wood flavor to the broccoli while it cooks.  Set the burners to medium and allow the grate to heat up and the smoke to generate from the wood chunks.  Then place pre-cut broccoli florets on the grill grate keeping some space between the pieces.  I usually can close the lid for the first 5-8 minutes before things start to cook rapidly.  At that point, you’ll need heat-safe tongs to turn the broccoli so it cooks and colors evenly.  Once done, remove to a bowl and allow to cool.

 

Stovetop Smoker Method

Stovetop smokers are perfect for the person who lives in a location that a grill isn’t possible, or who prefers to cook indoors but craves smoke flavor.  I’m using the indoor kettle smoker from Nordic Ware® which uses a wood chip product to produce the smoke.  SmokinLicious® offers a great assortment of wood chip sizing with recommendations specifically for stovetop smokers.  I am using a custom blend of Minuto® Wood Chips in #4 White Oak, #8 Wild Cherry and #6 Hickory.  You can view our series on the specific steps of this method in Dr. Smoke’s Tips and Technique blog.  Unlike the gas grill method, with this one, just load the broccoli florets to the smoker tray, put the cover on and come back in about 40 minutes for the finish.

 

Bring on the Soup!

After wood firing the broccoli, it’s time to gather the additional ingredients to make our charred broccoli soup.  Here’s what you’ll need:

• 3 cups of baby spinach
• 6 cups of wood-fired broccoli, chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1-1/2 fresh avocado, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 cups of broth plus extra for thinning soup
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or olive oil
• Salt & fresh ground pepper

To start the soup, place the oil in a pot and add the diced onion, red pepper flakes, and minced garlic.  Allow time to cook until tender, about 6-8 minutes.  Then add the 4 cups of broth and bring to a boil.
After tenderizing the aromatics and adding the broth, add the 6 cups of chopped wood fired broccoli.  Allow the flavors to marry for about 5 minutes on boil, then turn the heat off.  Add the 3 cups of baby spinach, mixing to combine.  Allow the mixture to cool until just warm.

Place ½ the mixture in a blender or food processor with some of the diced avocado and pulse until pureed.  At this stage, the soup mixture will be thick.  Once the ingredients are completely pureed, transfer back to the pot and place on low heat.  You can alter the thickness of your final soup by adding broth as needed.  Season again with salt and pepper to taste.

 

Happiness in a Bowl

Once the soup has been returned to the stove on low heat, you can start to alter the consistency and flavors to suit your taste.  If you prefer a thinner soup, add broth.  Don’t like quite that much smoke flavor?  Add a touch of cream or sour cream to balance out the flavors.  Like a bit more kick?  A drop or two of hot sauce works great.  Once the consistency is achieved, top each serving with a drip of cream and some chopped avocado.  Or, if you want to be dairy free, add a stream of olive oil and chopped avocado.  This is a soup that you can make your own.

I’ve gone cheese-free but you certainly can add that as well.   Frankly, this soup is even yummy served cold.  No matter if you pick the gas grill method or the stovetop method, you’ll have a flavorful, hearty broccoli to use in this soup recipe or other recipes featuring this healthy cruciferous vegetable.

 

Tasting Notes on our Charred Broccoli Soup recipe:

To tone down the boldness of the smoke, always reach for hardwoods that are noted to be lighter in flavor tones.  These would include Alder, Ash, and Wild Cherry.

If you want to make this a cream-based soup, simply add ¾ cup of light cream or ½ cup of sour cream to the finished soup.  Allow for marrying with the other ingredients for 10-15 minutes before serving.

If you’re looking for a broccoli-cheese version, good choices for cheese include white cheddar, Gruyere, Asiago, Maasdam.

If you want a thinner soup consistency, add an additional 1 cup of broth.

For a spicy kick, add 2 teaspoons of hot sauce or a tablespoon of Hoisin sauce.