Garlicky Butter Bath Will Wake up Your Weeknight Side Dish Game

A garlicky butter bath will transform basic broccoli and cauliflower. Joe Lingeman/TNS

Broccoli and cauliflower are two of my go-to vegetables for dinner sides—my whole family loves them. But as the family cook, I quickly get bored with our bi-weekly rotation of roasted broccoli or mashed cauliflower. Boiling these two cruciferous vegetables in a garlicky butter bath is my No. 1 way to love and appreciate them.

I was first introduced to butter bath cooking for corn on the cob. It makes even the best sweet summer corn impossibly better, so just imagine what it can do for basic broccoli and cauliflower (even the pre-cut bagged stuff!). Garlicky butter bath broccoli and cauliflower is going to make you fall back in love with these dinner staples.

Anything but Boring

Boiled and steamed vegetables get a bad rap for being too tender and flavorless, but butter bath boiling changes all that. Essentially, you’re making a milk and butter broth to cook vegetables in. Add in your favorite spices or aromatics—here, a ton of minced garlic—and the vegetables are infused with robust, unbeatable flavor.