Giada De Laurentiis’ Broccoli Puree

You’d think something with broccoli as the first ingredient would be healthy, right? Nope – not when Giada adds two types of cheeses to it. This is basically broccoli mixed with mashed potatoes – yummy! Well, I wanted to make this a healthy veggie dish as I’m always looking for tasty ways to get my veggies in. Here’s my take on Giada’s side dish.

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BROCCOLI PUREE – Anthony J. Caruso

INGREDIENTS
1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 pound broccoli florets
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
4 ounces fat free cream cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Fill a large pot with enough water to come 2 inches up the sides of the pot. Set a steamer rack in the pot, cover, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the potato chunks and cook until they are very tender, about 18 minutes. With 12 minutes remaining, push potatoes to one side of the steamer and add broccoli to the other side. Transfer the potatoes to a medium bowl and mash until smooth. Transfer the broccoli to the bowl of a food processor. Add the broth, cream cheese, and Parmesan. Process until the broccoli is pureed and almost smooth.
Stir the broccoli puree into the mashed potato and blend well. Season the puree to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

Here’s the skinny:

I used low sodium chicken broth. You can always add salt later. Having control over your sodium intake is key to a healthy diet, even though many people don’t consider things like salt. You’re adding Parmesan cheese, which is a salty cheese, so you aren’t going to need a lot of salt anyways.

Also, I used fat free cream cheese. You don’t need to worry about the cream cheese’s texture – it’s all going to be pureed anyways. If you won’t notice the fat, why add it?

Now you can have your healthy vegetables. 🙂