Simple Side

I am always looking for new side dishes for our meals.  More preferably sides that are healthy.  So I decided to delve into my Italian cookbook, La Cucina, which I received at Christmas last year.  Sometimes the names of the recipes scare me in there.  Once I get passed the scary name and look at the ingredients and even shorter list of steps I am renewed.  So here is a great side - and if you plan on popping open a bottle of white wine during dinner, why not splash a bit in your side dish?

Braised Broccoli

Ingredients

1 head broccoli
4 tbsp. olive oil
2-3 clove garlic
pinch chili pepper flakes
½ cup white wine
salt

Steps

1. Cut away the hard leaves of the broccoli and core it. Cut off the florets; cut the big ones in half lengthwise and leave the smaller ones as they are.
2. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan and add the garlic. When it changes color, add the broccoli, salt, and chili pepper, adding a little water as needed.
3. When the broccoli is cooked, add the wine and turn up the heat. When the wine has evaporated, serve the broccoli.