Raid the Fridge Fridays: Broccoli, lemon and crème fraiche
I have a confession. Sometimes… I plan these Raid the Fridge Fridays’ meals in advance. (Is it obvious?) Other times… well, they are quite literally the contents of my fridge served on a plate. I don’t think you’d always prefer the latter, dear reader, there is only so much egg white and half an onion we all can take.
But this week, oh the irony. Yes, I planned in advance. I planned broccoli - something delicious with broccoli. Gaylord wasn’t allowed to touch the broccoli stalk in the fridge because I was “using it for my newsletter.” The days passed. And then some more. That broccoli waited patiently, honestly, I didn’t hear a squeak out of it. Yet, as the days continued to drift by, not a single flutter of inspiration came to my mind. That broccoli sat there side-eyeing me every time I opened the fridge door.
What came about was a real raid the fridge Friday (Sunday I should say). The day before, Gaylord had made pizzas. Pizza is his baby - he cherishes the dough, tenderly watches it rise, then coaxes it into shape with a rolling pin. You can’t separate a man from his pizza dough. And for good reason, Gaylord’s pizzas are quite excellent. And sorry, we’re not secretly eating pizza in today’s newsletter. For the toppings, he always makes a slow-cooked tomato sauce which we might top with bacon or ham, and he also whips up crème fraiche with a little olive oil, lemon juice and salt for a creamy pizza option with chicken and onion slices. The leftover crème fraiche mix was sitting in the fridge, waiting just like the broccoli, to be used.
Finally, I was inspired. The broccoli was suddenly whipped from its fridge cocoon and had a very violent haircut as I sliced away florets. These were tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper, along with a garlic clove and half a lemon. Into the oven they were flung, finally, and the stalk and I looked at each other. I could just see it thinking judgemental thoughts.
Roasted broccoli is sweeter than broccoli that is boiled, steamed or microwaved. The crunchy stalks become butter soft and those little leaves and the tousled head of hair catch the heat, charring black. Add lemon and those sweet, blackened little trees are pumped with life and zing again. A meal of broccoli is sprinkled with pizzazz all thanks to lemon juice.
On my plate sat a circle of crème fraiche, a creamy place setting for my broccoli which were tumbled on top artfully (in my opinion, anyway) and to finish, all it needed was a hard-boiled egg cut into quarters and a scattering of capers, briny emeralds of which there were few because I’d used them all up on my pizza the day before.
A Raid the Fridge lunch indeed, and one I ate with leftover red rice and felt incredibly smug because it was actually really tasty and now I didn’t have to worry about the broccoli judging me anymore. Planning in advance is all well and good but sometimes the perfect meal just falls right onto your plate.
Broccoli, lemon, crème fraiche
When it comes to broccoli, often the stalk is abandoned. Don’t abandon the stalk! With its creamy texture, it’s usually my favourite part of the broccoli. Simply cut off some of the broccoli branches and mix them with the florets.
These quantities are for one person’s main course, but if you’d like to serve it as a side to share then multiply the amounts - as a side, everyone can be served half a boiled egg.
Total Time: 20 mins
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Keyword: broccoli, crème fraiche, lemon, capers, egg
Servings: 1
Ingredients
90g broccoli - florets and stalk cut into bite-sized pieces
1 clove of garlic
1 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
50g crème fraiche
1 egg
1 tsp capers
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F. Chop the broccoli into bite-sized pieces, place in a baking dish and add the garlic clove which you can lightly crush under your knife. Slice the lemon in half and set one half aside for the crème fraiche. Cut the other half in two, squeeze roughly a couple of teaspoons of juice over the broccoli and put the quarters in the baking dish. Cover the broccoli and lemon in 2 tbsp of olive oil, season with salt and pepper then roast for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the crème fraiche with a teaspoon of lemon juice, a teaspoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Taste and add more seasonings if you wish.
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Gently add the egg to the water - maybe dunk it a couple of times before fully submerging it to prevent it from cracking in the heat. Set your timer for 7 minutes.
After the broccoli has roasted for 15 minutes, check on it and toss all the ingredients around in the pan. It will need longer, so turn your oven to the grill setting (I have a fan grill setting, definitely use it if you do too) and continue to cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
When the egg timer goes off, drain the water and set the egg under cold running water until cool enough to peel then slice into quarters.
Dollop the crème fraiche on the plate and spread it out into a thick circle. Take the broccoli from the oven - some leaves should have charred nicely. Check that it’s cooked by inserting a cutlery knife, if it feels soft, it’s ready. Tip the broccoli over the crème fraiche, squeeze a little of the lemon over everything, then top with the egg quarters and capers. Finally, drizzle some olive oil over the top, and add a grinding of black pepper. Dig in.