Slow-Cooked Broccoli with Crunchy Lemon Breadcrumbs

From Dana Velden at TheKitchn.com.

• 11/2 pounds broccoli
• 3 to 4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
• 1/3 cup olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon more for breadcrumbs
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 11/2 cups fresh, roughly textured breadcrumbs (made from stale bread)
• Red pepper flakes (optional)
• Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
• 1 lemon
• Freshly ground black pepper

Break down your broccoli as follows: Cut the thick stems from the florets, peel and cut them into 1-inch chunks. Break the florets into pieces. If the garlic cloves are small (the size of an almond) leave them whole. Cut larger cloves into halves or quarters.

Pour 1/3 cup olive oil into a large pot (4 quarts or so) that has a tight-fitting lid. Add the broccoli, starting with the stems and followed by the florets, and garlic and a pinch of salt. Add about 2 or 3 tablespoons of water and put on the lid. Place over a medium low flame and cook until you can hear the liquids starting to simmer (about 10 minutes.) It’s OK to peek in the pot to see how things are going. Turn the flame down as low as possible and continue cooking until the broccoli is limp and completely soft, about another hour. Turn off the heat but keep the lid on.

In a large frying pan, heat up 1 tablespoon olive oil and the butter and add the breadcrumbs (and optional red pepper flakes) and saute until the crumbs begin to brown. Add a small pinch of the salt and turn off the heat. Using a microplane or a fine grater, carefully grate just the peel from the lemon and toss in with the crumbs.

To serve: Remove the broccoli from the pan with tongs until the only thing left in the pot are the cooking liquid and the garlic cloves (which will be quite soft.) Smash the cloves against the sides of the pot and mix them into the liquid and pour it over the broccoli. Sprinkle on the breadcrumbs, grind some fresh pepper over everything, and serve. Serves 6 as a side dish.

Per serving: 208 calories; 17 g fat (3 g saturated fat; 70 percent calories from fat); 12 g carbohydrates; 6 mg cholesterol; 209 mg sodium; 4 g protein; 4 g fiber.