When you cut the florets off a head of broccoli, set the thick stalk on the board instead of sweeping it into the scraps. Once you trim the dry end and peel away any tough outer layer, the centre gives you another vegetable to cook. How you cut it depends on what is already going into the pan.
Start with the tender centre
Rinse the broccoli under cool running tap water before preparing it and use a clean board and knife. Keep the vegetables away from raw meat, poultry and seafood. Refrigerate cut produce promptly if you are preparing it ahead. The NSW Food Authority’s produce guide has more detail on washing, handling and storage.
Cut off the florets, trim the dry end from the stalk and look at the cut face. If the outside has a thick, fibrous ring, pare it away with a peeler. On a broad stalk, you can cut a thin slice off one side to give it a stable base on the board, then work around the remaining sides. The amount you remove varies from stalk to stalk. Stop when the surface looks even and a knife cuts through without dragging tough strings along with it. NSW Love Food Hate Waste also suggests slicing, dicing or cutting broccoli stalks into matchsticks.
Cut thin coins for a side dish
Cut across the peeled stalk to make coins about 3 mm thick. If the stalk is wide, halve it lengthways first and make half-moons. Start the coins in a hot pan with a little olive oil. Spread them out so they have space to colour. Add a small splash of water and cover briefly if the outsides are browning while the centres are still firmer than you like. Check a piece with a fork, then finish with lemon and pepper.
If you are cooking the florets in the same pan, give the coins a head start and add the florets when the slices begin to soften. This lets you keep some bite in both. Serve them with a baked potato and yoghurt, or alongside the meal you were already making.
Make matchsticks for a stir-fry
Slice a short piece of stalk lengthways into thin planks. Lay the planks flat and cut them into sticks about the width of a matchstick. Add them with vegetables you want to soften early, such as carrot. Add quick-cooking ingredients, like sliced spring onion or a handful of leafy greens, nearer the end. A splash of water can help the vegetables cook through before you add a sauce.
For a quick meal, try stalk matchsticks, carrot, tofu and noodles with ginger and lime. Keep the sticks roughly the same size so you can judge the batch by tasting one. If you are deciding what else to put in the pan, see our guide to building a stir-fry that feels like a meal.
Dice it for a sauce or soup
Dice the peeled stalk into pieces about the size of a pea and add them with the onion at the start of a tomato sauce. Stir while the onion softens, then add tomatoes and simmer until the broccoli is tender enough to bite easily. If you are making a blended vegetable soup, simmer the diced stalk with the other vegetables until soft before blending.
This cut is handy when the stalk is too short or crooked for neat slices. A small handful fits into a sauce without changing the rest of your plan. For a chunky soup where you want the pieces to be easy to pick up with a spoon, keep them close in size to the other diced vegetables.
Pick the cut that suits dinner
Choose coins when you want broccoli as a side, matchsticks when you are already heating a wok, or dice when a sauce will simmer anyway. If a piece is stringy after cooking, trim a little deeper next time and cut the remainder thinner. Start with one stalk and one meal you already make. That is enough to work out where it belongs in your kitchen.
