The best ways to cook broccoli, beyond roasting florets

I was at a young, impressionable age when President George HWBush made his somewhat tongue in cheek declaration to the press that I do not like brocc...

I was at a young, impressionable age when President George HW Bush made his somewhat tongue-in-cheek declaration to the press that "I do not like broccoli. And I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I’m president of the United States, and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli!”

You have to wonder how many kids this inspired to push back on eating the green, cruciferous vegetable, but I wasn’t one of them. I loved broccoli, at least the kind that came in my go-to Chinese restaurant order of beef and broccoli. It was, if not my introduction to broccoli, then at least my favorite way to eat it.

As I went from picky to adventurous in my eating habits, my enthusiasm for broccoli only grew. I especially embraced roasted florets with nothing other than olive oil and salt as a quick, easy and nutritious side that went with just about anything.

If that’s also your preferred way to prepare broccoli, I’ve previously shared tips on how to achieve crispy roasted vegetables, including getting them as dry as possible before cooking, preheating the sheet pan as the oven heats up and giving your oven enough time to reach the temperatures I like for high-heat roasting, 400 to 500 degrees.

But that method is just one path to broccoli bliss. Here are other techniques and recipes to try for different textures and preparations.