Nov 21 2018

Browned Butter Broccoli Pecandine

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This holiday season, step up your side dish game with this simple & delicious Steamed Broccoli, Browned Butter Pecans and Pomegranate Seeds dish!

This post has been sponsored by Tanimura & Antle® through Kitchen PLAY.

It’s the holiday season folks and I, for one, am SUPER excited about it! It’s all about family, friends, traditions and amazing foods! I could not be more excited about this recipe as I’m teaming up again with friends from Tanimura & Antle to feature their Broccoli. Did you know that broccoli is actually part of the cabbage family? Broccoli is one of those vegetables that provides a range of tastes and textures, from soft and flowery (i.e., the floret) to fibrous and crunchy (the stem and stalk).

When Tanimura & Antle asked me to create another recipe for them, I was super excited. I know that their products are grown with the utmost quality and that best practices are utilized. As I tell you guys all the time, know where your products come from. Familiarize yourself with their practices, their farms, and their quality standards.

Tanimura & Antle takes great pride in their produce.
Family-owned and operated since 1982, Tanimura & Antle is a third-generation farming company.
They are active and involved in their local communities supporting a variety of organizations and their employees.
They are a family and employee-owned grower, shipper and marketer.
They recently celebrated their first year anniversary as an employee-owned company by contributing $21.7 million dollars to its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)! That’s absolutely incredible!

Tanimura & Antle has always been committed to providing a safe, happy and productive work environment for its employees. The ESOP is a retirement plan that allows qualified employees to vest into a percentage of ownership of the company. Through the new ESOP, employees can earn stock ownership in Tanimura & Antle.

So as I said above, they asked me to create another recipe but wanted it to be one that could be holiday-themed. Now, if you grew up like I did, Mom made broccoli for the holidays but hers was, well, not good. Mom chopped up the heads of broccoli, dumped them in boiling water with some salt then boiled the death out of them. Once done (and mushy) she’d drain them and then coat them with a crazy amount of butter. Full disclosure: I hated it and because of that, I hated broccoli as a kid.

BUT… one day when I was living on my own I decided to give those childhood foods I hated a second chance. I decided to treat broccoli similar to how I was able to fall in love with Brussels sprouts – a simple roast of salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil. Something magical happened on that sheet pan. No longer was broccoli seen as mushy and swimming in a vat of butter. Instead, it was bright green, slightly crisp and so full of amazing flavor! Oh mama you so missed out on something amazing! From that day on I became a broccoli lover!

With this recipe I wanted to go with something simple but that made a statement. I wanted the broccoli to shine and be the star of the dish. I wanted it to be the side dish that folks reached for first. Plus, I wanted it to be easy. The last thing folks want is to be standing over the stovetop on a holiday slaving away. We cooks also want to enjoy the day with our family and friends. This is that dish! It takes minutes to make and can easily be made the day ahead even!

When it comes to broccoli, I firmly believe in not wasting anything. The stalks and stems are just as packed with flavor as the florets so why not use them in the dish too! It adds another visual textural element. In this recipe I pulled out my pressure cooker to easily steam the broccoli but if you do not have one, don’t fret. I have directions in the notes section on other ways to steam your broccoli. I got’chu *wink*

Next, while the broccoli is steaming I melt up the butter with the pecans. You can totally go with walnuts or slivered almonds (i.e, the Almondine) but I prefer pecans and since I’m creating it, I’m making what I like most. Now, if I’m being fully transparent my initial plan was to just melt the butter and warm up the nuts but I got side tracked and ended up browning the butter with the nuts in. What resulted was such a deep, rich butter and nut flavor that honestly blew my mind. I did make it a second time with normal melted butter and warmed pecans and it just wasn’t as good. That browned butter is money on this dish!

Then to add a holiday flair and additional textural element I went with pomegranate seeds. They add a great balance of acid and sweetness at the same time. Plus, they are visually gorgeous in this dish! If you don’t have these you could go with dried cranberries as well.

As I mentioned earlier, this dish could totally be made a day or two ahead of time. To serve just reheat and top with the pomegranate seeds. Another thing I mentioned above is educating yourself about where your food comes from. For me, when I work with a client I like to learn more about them, their practices and what all goes into making their products so I’m also sharing what I learned about them.

Tanimura & Antle owns about 27,000 acres and farms over 40,000 acres. What I admire and couldn’t agree more with is their belief that high quality produce starts with the best quality soil in optimal growing locations. Each of their ranches have been carefully selected for soil, climate, and environmental factors that allow them to grow year-round to consistently supply their products to all of us. Their farming operations follow the sun from Salinas, California to Yuma, Arizona. From April to October, their produce is grown on ranches stretching from Castroville to Soledad in California. During the winter months, they then move their farming operations to Yuma, Arizona and the Imperial Valley, California. This means the products you and I buy are strategically grown in the best soil, climate and environment possible! This is their way of ensuring quality each and every time! To find out more information about their farms and practices definitely check out this page!

I mean just look at how bright green and GORGEOUS that broccoli is – and that’s even before I steamed it! You could smell the freshness and feel the firmness of the stalks as my knife cut through it!

So I’m sure you’re waiting…”where’s the Mr. Fantabulous story” in all of this? For those of you that are new here, Mr. Fantabulous is my husband and is blessed with the gene that knows when to come into the kitchen when a dish is done. He doesn’t have the gene that tells him to know when to wash the dishes or make the bed but he is spot on when it comes to the ‘time to eat’ gene! haha

I had the broccoli steaming, the pecans in the browned butter and I just started to take apart the pomegranate. I am not a fan of disassembling them as I don’t care how many videos I watch, my seeds do NOT come out that easily. I end up with red-dyed hands and red juice stains all over the place. BUT I love the little things as does my hubby. Once I got all the seeds in a bowl he showed up and spied them. As he reached towards the bowl I immediately pulled it away from him and said, “No, not yet. I need these for the recipe. You can have what’s left.”

Now to tell him he can’t have something is comical to everyone else but him. I got the look from him. Then I heard the deep sigh and then was finally asked, “So how long before I can have a single seed stingy?” HAHA – Stingy! I just chuckled and plated the broccoli, added the browned butter and pecans, some seasonings and then sprinkled the seeds over top. As I was taking pictures he came over to see the dish (which meant he was eyeing it up to see if he wanted to eat it). He said, “Oh wow, that’s really pretty! The seeds add a beautiful splash of color!”

I just smiled, finished up my shoot and said he could try it. Since it’s just the two of us, we each grabbed a fork and dug in. I’m going to be honest, this truly blew my mind and expectations! It is such a light dish that packs so much flavor! The broccoli is so fresh and earthy. It truly is the star of the dish. The pecans, browned butter and pomegranate seeds perfectly balance out the dish.

I would say the only thing that would vary from person to person is how much salt you want on your dish. Mr. Fantabulous loved his as-is but then he doesn’t like a lot of salt. I, personally, added just a light sprinkle of salt on mine and it was perfect. If you have a broccoli hater in your life I’m telling you guys, make this dish and ask them to try it. I WISH my Mom made something like this growing up as I can guarantee you that I would have eaten this time after time!

Whether you’re hosting a holiday meal or heading to a dinner, make this dish! It’s festive, delicious, and one that I can easily see becoming a holiday favorite. This dish is one that I will be making all year ‘round as it’s a great addition to my weekly meal prep! It’s a great way to incorporate my vegetables in a delicious and healthy way!