Vegetables, Salads, and Sides
Broccoli with Pine Nuts and Raisins
In the winter, Sicilian produce stalls are piled high with enormous heads of broccoli and its cousins romanesco and green cauliflower. All are served as contorni (side dishes) all winter long, providing nutrient-rich vegetal goodness to tables everywhere. A common preparation is to sauté the broccoli almost to the point of falling apart with garlic, pine nuts, and raisins. The result is a delicious sweet-and-savory side that can be made with any winter greens, really, or even with peeled and seeded delicata squash.
Serve as a side dish to Polpettone.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt the water until it tastes like a seasoned soup.
Add the broccoli stalks and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the florets (1 head) and cook until they start to soften, about 2 minutes more.
Drain and set aside.
Heat the olive oil (¼ cup) in a large skillet over low heat.
When the oil begins to shimmer, add the garlic (1 clove) and anchovies (4 fillets) (if using) and cook until the garlic just turns golden, 3 minutes.
Add the blanched broccoli, season with salt, increase the heat to medium, and cook until the broccoli is soft, about 8 minutes.
Add the pine nuts (¼ cup) and raisins (¼ cup) and cook until the pine nuts are toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes more.
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