Fergus Henderson is a hero to many, and I'm included in that list. I own his books. I loved eating at St. John in London. I made sure to score a table at The Spotted Pig in New York when he was here, not long ago. I cordially shook his hand when I left the restaurant, and complimented him on his meal, his career, his ethos: EAT EVERYTHING.
His books, The Whole Beast: Nose To Tail Eating, and its obvious sequel, Beyond Nose to Tail, are great. They describe a cuisine that is thrifty and simple and delicious. Henderson was smart in choosing the pig as his subject: The animal is so tasty that even the nasty bits are succulent.
The other whole beast, with all its nasty bits.
But this article is not about Chef Henderson; it's an article about eating the hell out of whatever you've got. Pig is easy. What about a less revered ingredient? What about broccoli?
I found this treasure at my local farmers market. It was so pretty that I had to buy it, but when I got it home I realized that the $2/lb I paid went mostly toward the stalk and leaves. "Sneaky farmer," I thought, "charging me for something I can't use." I walked to my wall of cookbooks and noticed Fergus's book. "Shit," I thought, "why not?"
I yanked the leaves off the broccoli, peeled the stem, and cut the tops. I mixed everything with a little cream, some cheese, an egg, and topped it all with some toasted breadcrumbs. Half an hour in the oven and guess what? Broccoli is the new pig. The custard weaved its way through the florets and laced the leaves together with the sliced stem. It was great.
To quote the master (with parenthetical justifications) from The Whole Beast:
"This is a celebration on cuts of meat (parts of broccoli), innards, and extremities that are more often forgotten or discarded in today's kitchen; it would seem disingenuous to the animal (plant) not to make the most of the whole beast: there is a set of delights, textural and flavorsome, which lie beyond the fillet (floret)."
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