Learn how to cook perfect broccoli every time with this quick video. Our easy guide shows you how to boil broccoli in minutes. Fill a saucepan halfway with water and add a pinch of salt, this helps to soften the broccoli and cauliflower bake and keep the bright green colour. Bring to the boil over a medium heat.

Cut one broccoli head into medium sized florets. A floret should look like a tiny tree. Trim each of the floret stems to make them shorter and more even and slice any large ones in half to make them more equal. This will mean they cook at the same rate. Save the stalk of the broccoli, it’s great for stir-fries. Put the florets into a colander and rinse under a cold, running tap to remove any dirt.

Then, gently tip into the pan of boiling water. Once tender, carefully pour the florets back into the cleaned colander over the sink to drain. Pan-fried gnocchi with broccoli pesto and grilled vegby Michel Roux Jr. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Fresh or frozen broccoli can be used for this delicious, comforting broccoli cheese gratin.

The cheese sauce is simple but spiked with mustard for added depth of flavour. Serve as a side dish or a vegetarian supper. The most common variety of broccoli is calabrese, which is available all year round. Long-stemmed sprouting broccoli, which may be either green or purple, is in season during the spring, and romanesco, which is pale-green in colour, and closely related to the cauliflower, appears in the autumn. Look for tightly packed, dark-green or purple heads with no signs of yellowing or flowers, and firm stems. Fresh broccoli should be refrigerated in breathable wrapping, and consumed within 2-3 days of purchase.