I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love vegetables. I never understood why people find it difficult to eat their greens or work a good amount of vegetables into their daily diet. Vegetables are SO versatile meaning the cooking opportunities are endless! They can be roasted, sautéed, grilled, puréed, eaten raw, and so much more. One of my all time favorite vegetables is broccolini.
While I love broccoli as well, broccolini with its thinner stalks and smaller florets somehow ups the greens game. Broccolini is always my go-to side dish when dining at a steak house. Once I see it on the menu at any restaurant really, it’s hard for me to resist ordering it. Whenever I make broccolini at home, I love steaming it with a bit of white wine and butter until this tasty green is tender but still crisp. There’s nothing worse than mushy green vegetables, so if this is how you’re rolling then you’re doing it wrong!
For a super quick weeknight side dish, I typically steam the broccolini as mentioned above, then drizzle with a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. This time around I decided to up my broccolini game with some extra accoutrements. Oh, so French! Thanks Rosetta Stone 😉 Crispy scallions and toasted hazelnuts provide some extra crunch and nuttiness that works well with this green vegetable. And a drizzle of slightly sweet and tangy mustard sauce brings the whole dish together!
The Wine Pairing
What wine you choose to pair with the broccolini with toasted hazelnuts and mustard sauce should depend more so on the main dish you are serving alongside the broccolini. A lightly oaked Chardonnay would complement the rich, creamy flavors of the toasted hazelnuts as well as the mustard sauce. A Pinot Noir leaning more towards notes of cranberry, mushroom, and earthiness would also pair will with this green veggie. For this style, look for a Pinot Noir from Oregon, France, Italy, or Germany.
A quick and easy broccolini side dish loaded with flavor.
- 8 oz broccolini (1 package at Trader Joe's)
- 1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- 2 scallions trimmed and sliced medium
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp dried rosemary
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 lemon
- salt and pepper
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Toast and rough chop the hazelnuts.
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Rinse broccolini and trim off bottom third of stalks along with any leaves on the stalks.
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In a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, melt butter with the white wine. Place broccolini in the skillet and cover the pan to steam the broccolini. Stir occasionally to avoid browning the broccolini. Cook until broccolini is crisp-tender.
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While broccolini is cooking, spray the sliced scallions with olive oil. Combine the flour and rosemary, then toss in the scallions to coat lightly with flour mixture.
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Remove scallions from flour mixture with a fork or using a small sieve. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a small pan. Briefly fry the floured scallions in olive oil until golden a crispy. Remove from heat and set aside.
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For the sauce, whisk 1/3 cup olive oil, dijon mustard, honey, red wine vinegar, a pinch of salt, and the juice of half a lemon together.
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Remove broccolini from the skillet using tongs and place on a serving dish. Sprinkle the toasted hazelnuts and fried scallions over the broccolini. Drizzle with the mustard sauce and serve.
