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What to do with the rest of a head of broccoli
Most recipes want the florets and leave you the stalk. Here is what to do with both halves before the whole head turns yellow.
Broccoli gets bought whole and used in pieces. A stir-fry wants the florets, the stalk gets set aside “for later,” and later rarely comes before the crown starts turning yellow at the edges — the first real sign it is past its best, well before it is actually bad.
The fastest thing you can do
Cut the florets small, toss with oil and salt, and roast them hot — broccoli wants a hotter oven than most vegetables, and the tips should be properly browned, almost blackened in spots, not just tender. That char is most of the flavor. Do not skip the stalk: peel the tough outer layer off with a vegetable peeler, slice what is underneath into thin coins, and it cooks and tastes almost like the florets, just with more crunch. Most of a head of broccoli is edible; the trash-worthy part is a thin layer most people peel off anyway for other reasons. A squeeze of lemon and a little garlic at the end is the only seasoning the florets need once they are properly charred.
The better thing, if you have half an hour
Roasting at a real high heat, spread out properly so nothing steams, is the difference between broccoli that tastes like a side dish and broccoli that tastes like a vegetable you are getting through. Cut the florets into even, bite-sized pieces, toss with enough oil that every surface is coated, and spread them on the pan with space between pieces — crowd the pan and they steam in their own moisture instead of browning. Leave them alone for most of the cooking time; the char only builds while the pan stays hot, and flipping too often resets it. If the stalk coins are going in too, give them a few extra minutes before the florets join — they are denser and take longer to soften all the way through.
What you can actually cook tonight
Seven recipes in FridgeToForks need nothing but broccoli and what is already in most kitchens — olive oil, garlic, soy sauce. Tell it what else is sitting in your fridge next to that head of broccoli and it will tell you which of those seven you can actually put on the table tonight, stalk included.
How long it actually keeps
A whole head keeps for about a week in the crisper before the florets start to yellow, which is the plant flowering, not rot — it is still edible, just past its best for eating raw or lightly cooked. Once cut, use the florets within three or four days; they dry out and go rubbery faster than the stalk does. The stalk on its own holds considerably longer, a week or more wrapped in the fridge, which is the real reason to stop treating it as scraps. Soft, mushy florets or a stalk gone dark and wet all the way through are the actual end of the line — yellow alone is not.