Broccoli will taste so much better if you ditch boiling and roasting for my easy method

It seems to have once been a uniquely British tradition to cook vegetables in a way which stripped away all their flavour and texture and made them unpleasant to eat. Many of us will no doubt remember our grandmothers over-boiling vegetables like carrots and broccoli, leaving them mushy and bitter.

But broccoli, like so many other vegetables, is delicious if cooked properly. It doesn't involve any fancy recipe or equipment and is so simple to do at home in your kitchen.

What's more, there's a whole part of a broccoli that, if you're anything like me, you spent years throwing away before realising it was just as delicious and nutritious as the florets. But before we get into how to cook broccoli for the best and most delicious results, let's first examine this wonderful vegetable's health benefits.

Why is broccoli good for you?

Broccoli is closely related to cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale and cauliflower - which are collectively referred to as cruciferous vegetables. Broccoli, just like all cruciferous vegetables, is packed with vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants, all of which are crucial to maintaining good health and reducing the risk of chronic illness like heart disease, cancer, stroke and dementia.

Most of us don't get enough fibre, which is crucial for the health of our gut microbiome, while antioxidants are nutrients found in food that play a crucial role in keeping us healthy and our bodies working better for longer.

They help prevent cell damage caused by "free radicals" and "oxidative stress", and has been linked to several serious chronic conditions like , dementia and cancer, as well as premature ageing and the risk of stroke.

How to cook broccoli for best results

Cooking a delicious, moreish portion of broccoli couldn't be simpler - and once you've done it, you'll wish you'd cooked more as you won't be able to stop eating it. Firstly, don't boil your broccoli - boiling turns it mushy and can even make it bitter. This is because boiling leaches out the natural sugars and flavours. What's more, the longer it boils the more nutrients it will lose to the water.

Instead of boiling, . , a health coach and cook, : "Roasting broccoli is one of my favourite ways to prepare it! It always has so much flavour. And it makes a great side dish and can also be used warm or cold in salads."

However, while roasting broccoli is a definite upgrade on boiling, it still has flaws. Firstly, it's hard to get the timing and temperature right and easy to over-cook. As a result you can end up with overly-charred and overly-crisp florets, while the part of the broccoli that connects to the stem remains under-cooked and hard.

You can avoid all these problems, and get amazingly tasty broccoli with a different, but equally simple, cooking method: frying. Here's how to do it:

1. As normal, use a sharp knife to individually remove each broccoli floret from the stem (but don't discard the stem - more on this below!)

2. Next, cut each floret in half again (in the way shown in the picture below) - the trick here is to try and slice it in a way that gives you the largest surface area possible.

3. Heat a large frying pan and add plenty of extra virgin olive oil.

4. Arrange each floret half with the flat (cut) side down.

5. Reduce the heat to medium and sprinkle the florets with salt. You may need to drizzle more oil over the top of the top (the more rounded) part of the florets.

6. Leave to sizzle until the flat side of the broccoli is golden brown and caramelised then turn over in order to cook, soften and heat up the other side of each floret half - you shouldn't need to cook this side as long. Once done, simply remove from the pan and serve up!

Don't throw away your broccoli stem!

If you're anything like me, you've probably spent years throwing away your broccoli stems, assuming they were inedible. But that's far from the truth and the stem is every bit as nutritious and delicious as the florets.

To cook it, peel or slice off the tougher outer skin of the stem. Slice the stem into thin slices. You can do this either lengthways, (creating long, thin strips) or sideways (meaning a higher number of smaller pieces). But you can essentially cut them however you want - and whichever way you can best fit them into your frying pan.

Once sliced, cook them in the exact way as your florets above, until they are caramelised and delicious.