Guess what vegetable?

 

Is it broccoli?

Could be...

Here's what the entire vegetable looks like.  Still think it's broccoli? Nope!  It's broccolini. I had never heard about this vegetable before reading Skinny Bitch.  It turns out that broccolini is a hybrid between broccoli and Chinese kale.  It can be found in neighborhood grocery stores, but it a little pricy.  This bunch of broccolini, which was approximately one pound, cost $2.99.

This vegetable is very versatile.  To me, it tastes like a combination of broccoli and asparagus.  It has florets like broccoli and long skinny stalks like asparagus. It can simply be boiled or steamed, like either broccoli or asparagus.  This was my first time cooking broccolini, so I wanted to follow a recipe step-by-step.  I choose "sauteed broccolini with garlic-infused soy sauce" from the Skinny Bitch book and was very impressed.  First, I boiled the vegetable for a few minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a pan I prepare the Asian-inspired sauce.  You can guess from the name of the recipe the main ingredients... Here is the final product.  This recipe was simple and amazing.  It was actually so good that I ate an entire serving over the stove straight from the pan before transferring it to a plate to devour the rest (without sharing).