Nutrition
| Per 100 g | Per 1 oz (28 g) | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 286 kcal | 81 kcal |
| Protein | 23.6 g | 6.7 g |
| Fat | 3.4 g | 1 g |
| saturated | 0.3 g | 0.1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 33.6 g | 9.5 g |
| sugars | 14.3 g | 4.1 g |
| Fibre | 21.9 g | 6.2 g |
| Sodium | 278 mg | 79 mg |
Estimated from the ingredients, for the finished dried product. Actual values vary with the produce you use and how far you dry it.
Ingredients
- 3.4 kg broccoli
Instructions
- Soak the heads in salted water for ten minutes before cutting. Broccoli florets hide small insects deep in the head and salt water is the only thing that brings them out.
- Rinse well, then break the head into bouquets no more than 13 mm across. Cut through the stem rather than the head and the florets stay intact instead of showering the board with crumbs.
- Trim the dry end off the stalk, peel the tough outer layer away, and cut what is left into strips. The stalk is the sweetest part of the plant and throwing it out is a waste, but the fibrous skin will never rehydrate.
- Blanch the pieces in boiling water. The live recipe says eight to ten minutes, which cooks them through rather than blanching them; two to three minutes is enough to stop the enzymes and keep the florets green.
- Cool them in iced water immediately and drain them well, shaking the water out of the heads. Florets hold water in their crevices the way a sponge does.
- Lay the pieces on lined trays in one layer and dehydrate at 52 °C for 8 hours, turning them once so the flat cut faces get their turn in the air.
- They are done when a floret is hard and crumbles at the head while the stem pieces snap. Test the stem specifically — it is dense and it is always the last thing to finish, and a damp stem is what spoils a jar.
- Store the cooled pieces in an airtight container in a dark cupboard for a year. Grind only what you will use within two months if you want broccoli powder, because it takes up moisture quickly and cakes.
