Macheesmo

This post is sponsored by ARM & HAMMER™! I used their new Fruit & Vegetable Wash while I prepared this Grilled Broccoli with Cheese Sauce recipe. Find it in stores near you or on Amazon!

I wanted to update a classic broccoli and cheese recipe for grilling season. This Grilled Broccoli with Cheddar Cheese Sauce was the result and is great served as an appetizer or as a side dish!

A few months ago I was contacted by Arm & Hammer to try out their new Fruit & Vegetable Wash. At first, I was honestly skeptical about washing my produce with something other than water, but it turns out that a produce wash with baking soda as the primary active ingredient (Arm & Hammer makes the only one) safely eliminates 90% of pesticide residue.

That’s about 4x better than just tap water!

Arm & Hammer based their formula for this Fruit and Vegetable wash on this study by Massachusetts University as well as a few other independent studies.

When I tried it, I also noticed that the produce wash did a great job of removing wax from produce! Check out some of the pictures below for a comparison I did of broccoli rinsed with just water and washed with the Fruit & Vegetable wash!

Oh, and of course, the next time you are firing up the grill, this broccoli and cheese sauce is a no brainer!

Grilled Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

by Nick

Serves:

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Prep Time:

10 mins

Cook Time:

20 mins

Total Time:

30 mins

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Ingredients

1 large heads broccoli, about 1 pound, washed and cut into florets

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

Cheese Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups whole milk

2 cups cheddar cheese

Pinch of salt

Pinch of dried mustard (opt.)

Instructions

1) Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Wash broccoli heads well with Fruit & Vegetable Wash, rinse with water and then cut into florets. Toss broccoli florets with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

2) Add broccoli florets to a grill pan and grill for 5-6 minutes total, stirring a few times, until broccoli is tender, but charred in spots. Remove broccoli before it gets completely mushy.

3) Meanwhile, make cheese sauce while melted butter in a medium pot. Whisk in flour and cook for a minute or two until the mixture turns a light tan color. Slowly whisk in milk. Turn heat down to low. Add cheese and stir to combine. Continue to stir while the sauce thickens and cheese melts. Season sauce with a pinch of salt and dried mustard (optional).

Serve grilled broccoli with cheese sauce on the side or drizzle the cheese sauce over the broccoli.

Produce Wash Comparison!

This is the stuff!

The absolute best way to use this produce wash is to actually soak your produce and then rinse it lightly. I think it’s a bit more practical to just spray and rinse, which is what I did.

I washed one head of broccoli with just water and one with produce wash. Of course, you can’t really see if it removes pesticides, but you can notice a color difference. Many people don’t know this but a lot of produce bought in stores is sprayed with a very thin layer of wax to preserve freshness and this produce wash helps strip off that waxy layer.

Grilled Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

Okay! Let’s cook! I chopped my broccoli into florets and also cut the stems into matchsticks (for awesome dipping). I tossed everything with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and tossed it on a really hot grill pan. Sizzle!

The broccoli will cook pretty quickly. Just a few minutes will do the trick. Don’t overcook it or it’ll be too mushy.

The cheese sauce is a really standard one that is easy to make and delicious. Make a standard roux, then whisk in some milk, and finally melt all that amazing cheese! You could use any melty cheese but I think cheddar goes well with the broccoli.

Serve a big pile of the grilled broccoli with the cheese sauce and you’re in business!

DIP. Eat. Repeat!