Broccoli Bites with Lemon Garlic Yogurt

A broccoli surprise! It's actually somewhat elegant in this recipe, especially with the lemon garlic yogurt dip. All the ingredients are very basic and they come together in a unique little bite. In the original recipe from RecipeTinEats.com, she even recommends serving it with rice and kale, like a buddha bowl. 

Baked Broccoli Bites with Yogurt Dip
Ingredients:
2 cups (packed) roughly chopped soft cooked broccoli (I recommend frozen broccoli blanched, then well drained) (~400g/13 oz raw broccoli)
1 cup panko breadcrumbs (or 3/4 cup almond flour)
2 eggs
¾ cup shredded cheese (Cheddar is ideal)
2 shallots or scallions, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp salt
Black pepper
Olive oil spray

Garlic Lemon Yogurt Sauce:
2/3 cup plain yogurt
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ garlic clove , minced
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

This video is on request by Joseph from Long Island who asked for a broccoli poppers recipe. Out of all the recipes I researched, this one was the most elegant and adult-like. Most recipes were made to sneak veggies to kids and just weren’t refined enough of my tastes.

Heat the oven to 400 F (200 C).

I recommend using frozen broccoli because the process is much quicker that way. You'll need to blanch the frozen pieces (boil for 2-3 minutes). Then shock them in cold water to stop the cooking process. And then drain them well. You may need to squeeze out the water by hand.

Once cooled, mince the soft broccoli. A food processor is quickest, even with the clean up. Chopping by hand leaves large chunks or takes too much time. Your broccoli should be soft enough that it can be packed into little balls.

Now add the onions, garlic, cheese, broccoli, eggs, breadcrumbs or almond flour, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. And mix it all together until everything is even distributed.

Using your hands or a small ice cream scoop, take approximately one heaping tablespoon of mix and then shape into a ball.

Place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Spray each piece with the olive oil to coat the tops and sides for a little browning.

Bake for 25 minutes. If you want browning on all side, turn the bites halfway through baking.

For the yogurt dip, stir together the yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes for flavors to settle in together.

I know I have a good recipe when I forget to finish filming and photographing the food because I can’t stop eating it. For broccoli, this is a really elegant dish. I would serve this with cocktails or as a dinner appetizer. You don’t see broccoli served to adults that often. It’s not a refined vegetable, but this recipe definitely takes it there. The recipe is from https://www.recipetineats.com/baked-broccoli-cheese-balls/