Easy Broccolini Recipe with Gremolata (2024)

/ Updated Sep 20, 2021 / by Carolyn Gratzer Cope / 2 Comments / This post may contain affiliate links. Learn more.

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This easy broccolini recipe with gremolata will brighten up your plate and your palate. It's special enough to serve as a holiday side dish, but it also makes a great weeknight dinner with a poached egg or some white beans on top.

Easy Broccolini Recipe with Gremolata (1)

Why we love this recipe

With just a few ingredients and a few minutes, this recipe packs a flavor punch. Gremolata is an Italian condiment traditionally made from parsley, lemon zest, and garlic. It's often called a "sauce," but it's more like a savory sprinkle.

Our broccolini recipe with gremolata is:

  • Vibrant and flavorful
  • Quick and easy enough for a weeknight
  • Special enough for a holiday
  • A vegan nutritional powerhouse, but you'll hardly notice

What you'll need

Here's a glance at what you'll need to make this broccolini recipe. It's not much!

Easy Broccolini Recipe with Gremolata (2)
  • Broccoliniis a hybrid of broccoli and Chinese broccoli, with long, crisp-tender stems and delicate florets. It’s mildly flavored and an absolute dream to cook with.
  • I've pictured curly parsley here because that's what we got in our farm box, but I prefer to make this recipe with flat-leaf Italian parsley. (That said, it's very flexible —so use what you've got.)
  • A good-quality olive oil is nice here, since you won't be cooking with it, and the flavors will come through. The olive oil is not part of the sauce, but drizzling a little bit on top (along with some lemon juice) really rounds out the dish.

How to make it

Here's all you need to do to make this easy broccolini recipe with gremolata. You can see all the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get the full instructions in the recipe card below.

Easy Broccolini Recipe with Gremolata (3)
  1. First you'll cook the broccolini until crisp-tender. If you like, you can shock it in a bowl of ice water for a minute after cooking. This helps preserve the bright green color.
  2. Finely chop the parsley.
  3. Use a microplane to grate lemon zest and garlic onto the parsley, then mix it all together.
  4. Spoon the gremolata over the broccolini and serve. That's it!

Expert tips and FAQs

What is broccolini?

It's a hybrid of broccoli and Chinese broccoli. This is a powerhouse combination. It's got long stems that easily cook up to crisp-tender, along with delicate florets. The flavor is mild and wonderful.

What is gremolata?

It often gets called a sauce, but really it's more of a savory sprinkle. This Italian condiment is traditionally made from finely chopped parsley, grated lemon zest, and garlic. It's uncooked, so it's bright, fresh, and vibrant.

Can I make this recipe in advance?

Yes! It's great served hot or at room temperature, so you can easily make it earlier in the day on serving day.

What can I do with leftover gremolata?

It's best on the day it's made, but you can store leftovers tightly sealed in the fridge and use them the next day. This is one flexible condiment. It's great on: lamb, fish, chicken, steak, eggs, beans, tomatoes...you name it.

What is the difference between chimichurri and gremolata?

Chimichurri is another great herb-heavy condiment for protein and veggies. It's richer, with olive oil as its base, and tends to include vinegar and oregano, too. Gremolata is drier and features lemon rather than vinegar. Chimichurri originates in Argentina and Uruguay, while gremolata is Italian.

How to serve it

This recipe makes an excellent side dish at the holidays or on a weeknight. Or turn it into a complete meal by adding:

  • Canned white beans
  • A poached or fried egg
  • Some leftover chicken or steak

More great recipes

  • Got broccolini? Make this frittata or this bowl.
  • Looking for flexible veggie side dishes that are special enough for a holiday? A few other favorites are green beans, mushrooms, brussels sprouts, kale, and cauliflower.

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Yield: 4

Easy Broccolini Recipe with Gremolata

Easy Broccolini Recipe with Gremolata (4)

This simple, vibrant, and flavorful recipe works equally well as a holiday side dish and a simple dinner (just add a poached egg or some white beans). A microplane makes quick work of the garlic and lemon zest.

Prep Time5 minutes

Cook Time5 minutes

Total Time10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound broccolini, ends trimmed
  • 1 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 1 medium garlic clove, peeled
  • 2 lemons
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
  • Flaky sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. In abraiseror12-inch lidded pan, bring ½-inch of water to a boil with a good pinch of salt. Add broccolini and cook until tender but crisp and vibrant green, about 5 minutes. Drain and plunge into a bowl of ice water if you like to stop cooking and preserve bright color. (You don't have to do this, but it's a cool and reliable trick.) Arrange broccolini on a platter.
  2. While the broccolini cooks, finely chop the parsley. Using a microplane, grate the garlic and then the zest of both lemons onto the parsley. Sprinkle ⅛ teaspoon salt overtop and then mix it all together well.
  3. Spoon gremolata over broccolini, drizzle with olive oil and the juice from ½ a lemon and sprinkle with flaky sea salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

  1. Gremolata is a flexible recipe. Once you get to know it, you can substitute other herbs or citrus if you like.
  2. Gremolata is best used on the day it's made, but you can store leftovers tightly sealed in the fridge to use the next day if you like. It's great on lamb, fish, chicken, beans, steak — you name it.
  3. This recipe is great hot or at room temperature. You can make it earlier in the day if you like.
  4. Leftover broccolini can be stored tightly sealed in the fridge for up to a a week.

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Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 106Total Fat: 4.4gCarbohydrates: 18.6gFiber: 6.4gProtein: 4.9g

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Easy Broccolini Recipe with Gremolata (10)

About Carolyn Gratzer Cope

Hi there, I'm Carolyn Gratzer Cope, founder and publisher of Umami Girl. Join me in savoring life, one recipe at a time. I'm a professional recipe developer with training from the French Culinary Institute (now ICE) and a lifetime of studying, appreciating, and sharing food. More about me.

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Easy Broccolini Recipe with Gremolata (2024)

FAQs

What goes with gremolata? ›

Use gremolata wherever you'd normally use pesto or any of its cousin green sauces: Spoon this zesty condiment over simply seared fish, white bean stew, or bowls of risotto, topped with plenty of Parmesan. Swoop it over hummus or salted Greek yogurt to make an impromptu dip.

What is gremolata sauce made of? ›

Gremolata is an Italian condiment made of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest. Sprinkle it over pasta, veggies, and more for a burst of fresh, bright flavor! A sprinkle of parsley is one of my favorite ways to finish a dish, adding freshness and an appealing fleck of green.

Do you eat the stems of broccolini? ›

The best way to experience the health benefits of broccolini is to eat it raw. The stems, leaves, and florets are all edible. You can also choose to steam your broccolini and serve it as a side to complete a tasty, nutritious meal.

What's the difference between broccoli rabe and broccolini? ›

Broccoli rabe is leafier, thinner, and less floral than broccoli. The stems are long and tender and bush out in leafy clusters with small flowering heads, like broccolini. But, where broccolini is sweet and mild, broccoli rabe is bold and bitter. The flavor is almost like that of mustard greens mixed with horseradish.

Is gremolata good for you? ›

Gremolata is an Italian chopped herb mix and, as exotic as it sounds, it takes just three ingredients to make: lemon zest, parsley and garlic. It's full of flavor but has hardly any calories, and it's naturally fat- and salt-free.

What is the difference between chimichurri and gremolata? ›

A bit more liquid-y than the other sauces, chimichurri is an oil-based condiment that—unlike pesto and gremolata—calls for vinegar, which brings both acidity and brightness to the sauce. It originated in Argentinian and Uruguayan cuisines but it's been adapted for cuisines across Latin America.

What does gremolata mean in English? ›

Meaning of gremolata in English

a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon, eaten in small amounts with meat or fish: Italians often finish stews with a scattering of gremolata.

What is another name for gremolata? ›

Gremolata (Italian: [ɡremoˈlaːta]) or gremolada ( Italian: [ɡremoˈlaːda]; Lombard: [ɡremuˈlaːda]) is a green sauce made of chopped parsley, lemon zest, and garlic. It is the standard accompaniment to the Milanese braised veal shank dish ossobuco alla milanese.

What country is gremolata from? ›

Gremolata is a standard condiment in Italian kitchens. This sauce is incredibly quick and easy to whip up using ingredients that you might even have on hand. Gremolata originated in Milan to accompany the classic Milanese veal dish, osso buco.

What's healthier broccoli or broccolini? ›

The verdict. Broccolini – by a hair's breadth! Nutritionally, the two brassicas are very similar. But the excellent vitamin A content of broccolini, together with the fact that it needs less prep and there's no waste, gives it the edge over broccoli for us.

Why is broccolini so expensive? ›

Because of its newness and because it provides less quantity in a stalk, broccolini is typically more expensive than broccoli. Substitutes for broccolini are traditional broccoli, Chinese broccoli, broccoli rabe, cauliflower, and asparagus (because broccolini's sweeter flavor is similar to asparagus' sweeter notes).

What is broccolini vs broccolini? ›

Broccoli has a thick, woody stem and a large, flowering head. Broccolini is a cross between broccoli and Chinese broccoli, and also belongs to the cabbage family. Broccolini have long, firm stalks (thinner and more tender than those of broccoli), a few small leaves and small florets.

Is broccolini just baby broccoli? ›

Sometimes referred to as "baby broccoli," it's actually a hybrid vegetable. Broccolini is a cross between broccoli and Chinese broccoli (also called gai lan or Chinese kale). It looks a lot like Chinese broccoli—the stalks are long and lean—but instead of big leaves, it has florets more like common broccoli.

Is broccolini easier to digest than broccoli? ›

This means you can more easily eat broccolini stems than broccoli stems, which are much tougher and could be more difficult to eat and digest raw. Plus, you don't need to peel broccolini stems before preparing them. The texture of broccolini is more like that of asparagus than broccoli.

Is broccolini really baby broccoli? ›

Despite what you may have heard, Broccolini is not baby broccoli. This lanky vegetable is a hybrid first created in 1993. Broccolini a cross between broccoli and Chinese broccoli. It has small florets, long stalks, and a few small leaves — all of which are edible.

What is a gremolata in Italian? ›

Gremolata (Italian: [ɡremoˈlaːta]) or gremolada ( Italian: [ɡremoˈlaːda]; Lombard: [ɡremuˈlaːda]) is a green sauce made of chopped parsley, lemon zest, and garlic. It is the standard accompaniment to the Milanese braised veal shank dish ossobuco alla milanese.

What does chimichurri go best with? ›

Traditionalists might say it's reserved for churrasco, or grilled meat, but we say chimichurri tastes amazing on fish, pasta salads, eggs, potatoes—practically anything!

What is a gremolata in English? ›

Meaning of gremolata in English

a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon, eaten in small amounts with meat or fish: Italians often finish stews with a scattering of gremolata.

What flavor is Milanese gremolata? ›

Gremolata is a traditional Italian herb condiment consisting of fresh lemon zest, minced garlic, Italian flat leaf parsley and a hint of mint. Try this olive oil for marinating poultry and in dressings! Each bottle comes with a built-in pour spout.

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