This is an Italian spin on the traditional Mexican dish “Chile Rellenos” which is pan “fried” in an airy, cloud-like egg batter and then finished in the oven. Served dipped in or smothered with tomato sauce, this is an incredibly flavorful way to eat broccoli. A favorite among kids and adults! Thank you @bestgirlfridaynyc for introducing our family to this delicious dish from your childhood.
Ingredients:
3 heads of broccoli, cut to just florets with partial stems.
3 eggs, separate whites and yolks
1/2 large onion, diced
4-6 tbsp olive oil
5-7 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 cups Due Cellucci Traditional or Tomato Basil Sauce
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325oF.
- In large sauté pan, heat the other 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, lightly brown the other 1/2 of the onion to a golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve for later.
- In the same pan, lightly brown the smashed cloves of garlic (should only be golden brown, no more). Remove with a slotted spoon and put aside with onions.
- In large bowl, beat 3 egg whites with a hand mixer to stiff peaks. (don’t skip this step–this is where the magic happens!).
- Gently fold back in the three egg yolks to the beaten egg whites, add broccoli florets into the egg batter to completely coat. (have the broccoli prepped and ready…you don’t want the eggs sitting around loosing their fluff)
- In the same pan, add 3-4 more tablespoons of olive oil to pan, turn heat to med/low.
- Place freshly battered broccoli into the hot oil keep turning broccoli until all sides are golden brown. (you may have to do in batches depending on how big your pan is)
- Arrange the pan-browned broccoli in a large rectangular casserole dish, sprinkle the browned onion and garlic on top, salt & pepper to taste.
- Bake until further golden brown and broccoli has become soft (about 20min – if you want to cook faster raise the temp to 350 and just keep an eye on it)
Plate the broccoli on a serving dish and top with hot Traditional or Tomato Basil sauce (or leave sauce on the side for dipping)
Serves 6
