Broccoli/Broccolini

This would be great with take-out sushi.

This thick, cheesy dip is delicious with broccoli spears or bread sticks, or even as a spread on slices of bread. Serve any leftovers on baked potatoes or tossed with potato salad.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Bikini Bootcamp: Two Weeks to Your Ultimate Beach Body, by Melissa Perlman and Erica Gragg. This tasty curry goes wonderfully on top of couscous and makes for a filling meal.

Who needs takeout? You can make tender sirloin beef tips and broccoli in a velvety soy glaze just as fast yourself.

The broccoli gives bright flavor and color to this easy vegetarian pasta dish.

There are fluffy eggs, melting cheese, and golden hash browns in every bite of this one-dish meal. It makes a good stand-in for quiche, with potatoes acting as a crust.

Start with a spread of smoked salmon, bread, crème fraîche, lemon wedges, and capers. Then serve this satisfying yet light soup as the first course.

Chopped fresh mint lends an unexpected twist, giving broccoli a brand-new identity.

Meaty, sweet squid steaks offer a seafood variation of chicken francese.

Garlic and raisins blend beautifully in a dish that's a welcome substitute for the basic broccoli-and-butter side.

At the restaurant, this dish is drizzled with tomato sauce, then garnished with salami and sautéed zucchini.

To make this dish even more decadent, add cooked chopped pancetta or cooked and crumbled smoked bacon.

Delicate with tender stems, Broccolini tastes great simply on its own. Adding a little lemon oil reveals perky new dimensions to its flavor.

Coconut milk ties this dish together, adding a tropical note and balancing the heat of Sriracha sauce (a Thai bottled sauce of puréed red chiles).

It is important to cut the broccoli flowerets into pieces small enough to fit into the hollow of the orecchiette.

Editor's note:
The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Grace Young's book The Breath of a Wok. Young also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. For Young's article on Cantonese cooking, click here. Chef Lee Wan Ching of Yee Hen restaurant on Lantau Island, Hong Kong, taught me this recipe. Traditionally ginger is always cooked with broccoli — its warmth balances the coolness of yin vegetables such as broccoli. Just a small amount of ginger juice intensifies the flavor of the vegetables. To make ginger juice, grate a small amount of ginger and then squeeze it with your fingers to extract the juice.