Try This To Improve The Taste Of Steamed Broccoli

Broccoli is one of the most nutritious vegetables you can eat, with health benefits ranging from heart attack prevention to anti-inflammation (via Healthline). If broccoli still gets a bad rap, it's probably in large part because most people don't know how to cook it right (via HuffPost) - and badly prepared broccoli has the potential to make you swear off the cruciferous vegetable forever. 

There are several ways to cook broccoli well, making it a tasty side dish or even part of a main meal. Roasting, blanching or sautéing it all create subtle differences in the flavor of the vegetable, and you'll want to choose your cooking method depending on how you're serving the broccoli. Steaming is an excellent option to enhance its natural taste, and thanks to A Couple of Cooks, you can whip up this delicious and nutritious dish with just a few simple ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your kitchen.

To make this recipe, you'll need red onions, olive oil, salt, black pepper, feta (this one's optional), and of course, your broccoli. You'll also need a steamer basket of some sort to properly steam the vegetable. 

After you've thinly sliced a quarter of a cup of onions, place them in a bowl with some water. This will lessen the onion's kick. Bring about a cup and a half of water to a boil in a pan. If your steamer basket has no handle, place it in the pot before you start boiling. If it has a handle, incorporate it afterward. Once the water is boiling, add your chopped broccoli to the steamer basket (or add the steamer to the pot with the broccoli already inside if it has a handle), put a lid on top, and set a timer for three minutes. If, after three minutes, the broccoli isn't cooked to your liking, you can wait another minute or so. But be careful! Overcooked broccoli becomes a mushy mess, and only a few minutes can make all the difference. 

Then, all it takes is tossing the broccoli with two tablespoons of olive oil, half a teaspoon of salt, and some feta if you'd like it. Top it all off with some freshly ground pepper, and serve yourself! If you want to experiment with other toppings, steamed broccoli pairs well with pretty much everything. Simply Recipes has a few great ideas if you need a place to start.