Chef Juliette
Choux Rouges à la Flamande
Fine-cut red cabbage, russet apples, butter, sugar, nutmeg, and vinegar share one covered cocotte, cooking gently until the leaves gleam garnet and the apples soften without disappearing.
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Cauliflower and Broccoli (Chou-fleur et Broccoli)
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2108, Cauliflower and Broccoli (Chou-fleur et Broccoli), from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Blanch first, dry completely, then let real butter and a wide pan do their work: ivory cauliflower, green-violet broccoli, bronzed at the edges and glossed for the weeknight table.
Side Dishes
French
Weeknight
Quick Meal
Budget Friendly
15 min
Active Time
15 min cook•30 min total
Yield4 servings
Chou-fleur et brocoli (cauliflower and broccoli) teaches the cleanest rule in vegetable cookery: water cooks the center, butter finishes the surface. The one true thing to know before touching the skillet is that blanched vegetables must be dry. Leave water clinging to them and they simmer in diluted butter; dry them well and the butter can bronze their edges before settling into a fine gloss.
The source entry assumed a brigade blanching vegetables in volume and a cook who already understood that a large, firmly headed broccoli could follow cauliflower's treatment. For this sautéed preparation, no saucier, stockpot, or salamander is called for; the honest home equivalent is one saucepan, one wide skillet, and four servings. Holding great batches for service is brigade scaffolding and goes. Blanching to the right resistance, drying thoroughly, and finishing in real butter are the dish, so they stay.
At the table, the cauliflower should remain ivory with small bronze faces, while the broccoli keeps its green or violet color and a little firmness beneath the teeth. The butter gathers around both without drowning either. Before the vegetables meet the pan, dry every cut surface until it looks matte. That is the step that decides everything.
Chou-fleur et brocoli belongs to French classical vegetable service rather than to one regional table. In the Mediterranean market gardens of southern France, headed broccoli was described as growing far larger than English plants, whose deep-violet flowers could remain scattered among the leaves instead of closing into a single head. Classical cooks therefore treated large headed broccoli as cauliflower's kitchen cousin, carrying both through the same blanching and butter finishes while adjusting only for tenderness.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
cauliflower
Quantity
1 small head (about 1 lb / 450 g)
cut into 1½-inch (4 cm) florets with the tender core sliced
broccoli, green or violet
Quantity
1 large head (about 12 oz / 340 g)
cut into 2-inch (5 cm) florets with the peeled stem sliced
water
Quantity
3 qt (2.8 L / 2.8 kg)
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 tbsp plus ½ tsp (17.5 ml / 21 g)
divided
unsalted butter
Quantity
4 tbsp (60 ml / 57 g)
divided, with 1 tablespoon kept cold
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| cauliflowercut into 1½-inch (4 cm) florets with the tender core sliced | 1 small head (about 1 lb / 450 g) |
| broccoli, green or violetcut into 2-inch (5 cm) florets with the peeled stem sliced | 1 large head (about 12 oz / 340 g) |
| water | 3 qt (2.8 L / 2.8 kg) |
| fine sea saltdivided | 1 tbsp plus ½ tsp (17.5 ml / 21 g) |
| unsalted butterdivided, with 1 tablespoon kept cold | 4 tbsp (60 ml / 57 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •5-quart (4.7 L) saucepan
- •Wire skimmer or large slotted spoon
- •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet
- •Rimmed tray and clean kitchen towel
Instructions
- 1
Cut even pieces
Trim away damaged leaves but keep the tender cauliflower core and broccoli stem. Cut the cauliflower into 1½-inch (4 cm) florets. Make the broccoli florets slightly larger, about 2 inches (5 cm), because their crowns cook more quickly; peel the fibrous skin from the stem and slice its tender center. Even pieces finish together, which matters more than making them look identical.
- 2
Blanch in sequence
Bring the water to a full boil in a large saucepan and add 1 tablespoon of the salt. Add the cauliflower and its sliced core, then blanch for 3 to 4 minutes, until a knife enters a stem with firm resistance. Lift it onto a towel-lined tray. Return the water to a boil, add the broccoli and its stem, and blanch for about 2 minutes, until vivid and barely tender. Reserve ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) of the cooking water, then lift out the broccoli. If either vegetable has softened more than intended, spread it out immediately and shorten its time in the skillet; gentle handling will preserve the florets.
- 3
Dry the florets
Spread both vegetables in a single layer and leave them for 3 minutes so their trapped heat can carry off moisture. Turn them gently and blot every surface with a clean towel. They are ready when the crowns and cut stems look matte rather than wet. This isn't fussy work: water left on the florets turns the butter finish thin and prevents browning.
Don't rinse the vegetables after blanching when you intend to sauté them at once. Spreading them on a tray stops the cooking quickly enough and leaves much less water to remove. - 4
Sauté in butter
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a 12-inch (30 cm) skillet over medium-high heat. When it foams, arrange the cauliflower with several cut faces against the pan and leave it undisturbed for 2 minutes, then turn and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer it to the tray. Add 1 tablespoon butter, sauté the broccoli for about 2 minutes, then return the cauliflower. If moisture collects and the pan begins boiling instead of sizzling, stop tossing and let the liquid evaporate before continuing. If the butter darkens too quickly, add a teaspoon of the reserved cooking water and lower the heat.
- 5
Mount the butter
Add 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of the reserved cooking water and scrape up the light brown film from the skillet. Toss over high heat for 20 to 30 seconds, until only a spoonful of liquid remains, then take the pan off the heat. Montez au beurre (finish by tossing in cold butter) with the remaining tablespoon of butter until the liquid and butter join into a thin, glossy coating. If the finish looks oily, add a teaspoon of hot cooking water and toss again off the heat. Ça se rattrape. Taste, add as much of the remaining salt as the vegetables need, and serve at once. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose cauliflower with a tight white head and broccoli with compact crowns, whether green or violet. Open sprouting broccoli with small flowers scattered among its leaves is also good, but blanch it 60 to 90 seconds less because its slender stems cook quickly.
- •Keep the stems. Once the fibrous skin is peeled away, their centers are sweet and tender, and slicing them thinly lets them follow the florets through the same treatment.
- •Butter, not margarine. The final cold spoonful forms the glaze, so a substitute with added water or stabilizers leaves the vegetables greasy rather than properly coated.
- •Serve this beside roast chicken, a pork chop, an omelette, or pan-fried fish. It is deliberately plain enough to support a sauced main dish, yet browned and buttery enough to stand beside a simple one.
Advance Preparation
- •The vegetables can be cut up to one day ahead. Refrigerate them separately in covered containers lined with a dry towel.
- •For service later the same day, blanch the vegetables up to 6 hours ahead, cool them briefly in ice water, and dry them with particular care. Chill them uncovered for 20 minutes before covering, then complete the butter finish just before serving.
- •Leftovers keep for 2 days in the refrigerator. Reheat them in a wide skillet with a teaspoon of water and a small piece of butter, stopping as soon as the coating turns glossy again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 195g)
Calories
160 calories
Total Fat
12 g
Saturated Fat
7 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
30 mg
Sodium
500 mg
Total Carbohydrates
11 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
5 g
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