This was made the same night as my steak on the previous page. There is nothing better than a nice beefy steak, but I have a couple of vegetarian friends, and I have to be able to feed them too. So for steak night, I also made a broccoli steak since it has the thickness and texture that gives a good amount of bite, like a steak would.

As I was coming up with this dish in the supermarket, I ran into a batch of beets, an ingredient I had never worked with before. I was intrigued by it, and I always found the color of beets to be so engaging and beautiful on the plate. Therefore, I made a fresh, but earthy puree for the broccoli steak to lie on.

Cooked high and fast, with a little butter, then sprinkled with lemon zest, parmesan, and fresh cracked black pepper, created such a complex mix of flavors. This was an experimental recipe for me, and it made me appreciate the natural flavors of vegetables more.