Nonna’s Chilli Broccoli in Sugo (Vegan)

The thing that is great about Sicilian cuisine, especially from the area where our family come from, is that being a small town inland, meat and fresh fish was very scarce. This meant that our Nonni naturally cooked and ate vegetarian dishes, which can be easily made into vegan friendly dishes too.

This dish is a great example, traditionally we serve it topped with baked eggs and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese but take that away and serve simply with rustic crusty bread and your dish is made vegan friendly!

Method

Take a large saucepan with a depth around 3 inches with a lid. Take the saucepan and add 3 generous tablespoons of cooking oil and add in the garlic cloves into the cold oil.

Tip* To prepare the garlic, simply crush with the back of a knife and remove the skin and the “germ” which is the green part of the garlic found in the centre as this can be very bitter.

Turn on the heat to a low flame and gently fry the garlic until lightly golden. Once the garlic is ready add in the tinned tomatoes, a pinch of salt, stirring well and leave to gently simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes.

Whilst the sugo cooks, prepare the broccoli by cutting off the ends and washing well. Bring a pan of water to the boil and season with a pinch of salt and cook for 3-5 minutes until tender.

After 20 minutes once the sugo is cooked, serve the dish by taking a plate or platter and placing the warm cooked broccoli around. Then spoon over the sugo generously and sprinkle with chopped fresh red chilli, and a drizzle of Sicilian chilli infused olive oil. Serve with crusty warm bread!

Buon appetito!

Why not try another one of our delicious healthy recipes such as our Capuliatu con i Broccoli (Vegan)

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