This dish, gosh. Hard to describe without it sounding mundane, but it isn’t. And pictures hardly do it justice – purply broccoli? But, it’s delicious. It’s Sicilian, and most often when they serve it, it’s on top of a piece of amply oiled and browned rustic toast. And it’s a whole meal!
For a recent family dinner, our daughter-in-law asked me to make this dish with the minimal instructions she had, from her Aunt Pina, when she had prepared it on a recent visit. Karen’s aunt is Sicilian, and she’s an excellent cook, but I did have some difficulty interpreting the few directions. When I say minimal instructions, I mean minimal. So I went online and found a few other recipes for it, and discovered more about the dish. One Italian website (thank goodness for Google translations!) said that Affogati means drowned, but she explained that in the true sense of Sicilian-Italian, it means suffocated (because the dish is cooked completely with a lid). What a recipe title.
Most frequently Sicilians eat this as a vegetarian main dish and its quite beloved. Some make it with white wine, but mostly it’s made with red, which gives it a kind of unique color. There are variations of the theme – Karen’s Aunt makes hers without cheese, but with capers and green olives. Some make it with anchovies. Others have garlic. And raisins. All of the recipes use ample olive oil. Not just a dash or two, but several tablespoons, or at least more than you might think. And Karen’s Aunt Pina makes hers with tomato paste, which I didn’t find in any of the recipes I searched. So, you see, you can make this recipe your own, as I have.
Starting with Aunt Pina’s recipe, I adjusted and adapted it. The first time I made it according to the minimal instructions and everyone seemed to like it, but I thought it could use some adjustments. Cooking the onion first, for one thing, which would give the dish more onion character. Then, adding garlic, which is a no-brainer for me. Cooking the broccoli first with water, then adding the red wine later (I made it the 2nd time without the tomato paste) seemed like a good idea. I reduced the quantity of capers and olives (don’t use them at all if you’re at all caper or olive averse). Then the cheese. Well, what doesn’t taste better with cheese, I ask you? And Pecorino. I do love Pecorino a lot and usually I have some in my refrigerator.
So, the recipe below is my adaptation of the original recipe. If you’d prefer, do mix some tomato paste with the red wine (and mix it in very well so it’s a smooth liquid). I think the cheese added a lot, and I did find that I liked it cooked until it’s more “done” than our more common just cooked until al dente. This dish needs it to go further than that. I liked the garlic added in, and I preferred the cooking of the onions first, rather than layered into the pot raw. When I made it the 2nd time my DH was wild about it. The onions in the bottom had absorbed a lot of the red wine (so they were bright purple) which was pretty, besides being tasty. The Pecorino didn’t melt quite like I’d wanted (it clumped anywhere shreds touched one another), but the taste was wonderful.
What’s GOOD: the combo of flavors – the onions, the cheese, the broccoli. All of it good. It’s also quite easy to make.
What’s NOT: really nothing – try different cheeses if you’d prefer a softer, more melting type. Adapt the recipe to suit your tastes. It’s a good one.
printer-friendly PDF – created using Cute PDF Writer, not Adobe
MasterCook 5+ import file and MasterCook 14 import file
* Exported from MasterCook *
Broccoli Affogati
Recipe By: Adapted from our daughter-in-law Karen’s Aunt Pina (a Sicilian)
Serving Size: 4
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion — halved and sliced
1 clove garlic — minced
1 pound broccoli — trimmed
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons green olives — pitted, slivered
1 1/2 ounces tomato paste — about half a small can (optional)
1/2 cup red wine
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup Pecorino cheese — shaved
Notes: Cooked correctly, this broccoli dish will not be that bright, vibrant green we so often want – you need to cook it past that point, but not so it turns to mush. If this is stirred gently at the end, the broccoli will stay intact for the most part.
1. Clean and wash broccoli. Cut large florets with stalks intact then slit larger stalks about half way up the center, leaving top intact (stems will cook more rapidly this way).
2. In a large heavy-bottomed pan (skillet type with lid) heat olive oil and add onion. Stir and cook for 3-5 minutes until softened, then add garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes. Do not brown the garlic.
3. Add broccoli on top of the onions. Sprinkle capers and olives on top. Pour in 1/2 cup water, increase heat until water boils, then cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, until broccoli is just about done.
4. Mix tomato paste with the wine and add to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. (You can also make this without the addition of the tomato paste.)
5. Cover and cook on low heat until broccoli is cooked completely. Lift lid and stir the mixture well. Poke broccoli stems with a sharp knife to see if it’s done. You want to boil off most of the red wine if there is any remaining, but don’t allow it to burn. Add cheese all over the top, stir it quickly, remove pan from the heat (move it off the burner, even), cover and allow to sit for 3-4 minutes until cheese is completely melted.
6. Serve as is, as a vegetable side dish, or scoop onto toasted bread as a vegetarian meal. Some serve this cold (without the cheese).
Per Serving: 216 Calories; 16g Fat (71.0% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 5mg Cholesterol; 303mg Sodium.
Toffeeapple
said on August 16th, 2013:
Hmm, this looks like a Broccoli recipe that I might like. Thank you for the suggestion, I like the idea of eating it on toast.
Well, be like an Italiana, and try it – let me know what you think. Just select the cheese so it melts well. The flavor of the broccoli is fabulous, though. . . carolyn t
Jo
said on May 17th, 2021:
Use a cheese that melts or add pecorino on top just before serving