Have you ever prepared oven-baked vegetable cream? Well, it has a distinct taste, more intense and is also less demanding to prepare, as you just pop the vegetables in the oven and leave them there until done. I often prepare them this way; in fact, you can already find some recipes on my blog, like this oven-baked pumpkin and tomato cream soup.
This time I chose broccoli instead, combined with a good amount of leek and garlic, and served it all with skewers of South Tyrol PGI Speck, browned in a pan for a few minutes. A side that really makes the difference and adds that extra touch in both color and taste!
A simple and light recipe for the whole family.
If you like South Tyrol PGI Speck, also try these recipes of mine:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 21 oz broccoli
- 10.5 oz leek
- 1 garlic bulb
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- to taste nutmeg
- 2.5 cups vegetable broth
- 2/3 cup fresh liquid cream
- 8 slices South Tyrol PGI Speck
- to taste seed oil
Steps
To prepare the baked broccoli cream with South Tyrol PGI Speck skewers, preheat the oven to 392°F (fan-assisted).
Detach the broccoli florets, remove any leaves from the stem and the thicker, woody part of the stem. Cut the tender part of the stem into pieces and wash everything well under water. Set aside to drain.
Remove the bottom and the tip of the leek leaves. Cut it in half lengthwise and rinse under water. Cut into pieces and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Also add the broccoli florets.
Cut the top off the garlic bulb and place it in the center of the vegetables. Drizzle everything with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Bake at 392°F for about 40 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and have taken a bit of color. Stir everything halfway through the cooking.
When the vegetables are ready, heat a pot with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Add grated nutmeg to taste and toast for 15 seconds. Add the broccoli florets (keeping some aside for decoration), leek, and garlic to taste, sauté for another 15 seconds, and add the broth. Bring to a boil and blend everything with an immersion blender until you get a smooth and homogeneous cream. Add the cream, bring back to a boil while stirring, possibly adjust salt and pepper, and serve your broccoli cream with South Tyrol PGI Speck skewers.
Fold the slices of South Tyrol PGI Speck in half lengthwise and thread each slice in an accordion-like fashion onto a skewer.
Heat a pan with a drizzle of seed oil and brown the South Tyrol PGI Speck skewers on both sides over high heat for a few minutes, until they are slightly browned and crispy.
Tips
For a lighter version, you can replace the fresh liquid cream with more vegetable broth.
