BROCCOLI MAKES IT TO THE BIG TIME
It can seem hard to believe today, but broccoli, a key ingredient in chicken Divan, an elegant chicken dish from Manhattan’s Divan Parisien restaurant, was a relative latecomer to the American diet. This headline from The New York Times in 1926 attests to its arrival on the scene: “New Vegetables Vary our Menus: Broccoli, Artichoke, and Avocado Naturalized, and Fennel Enters Under Foreign Name—Homely Carrot Is Still in Demand.” Broccoli aside, the restaurant’s recipe required a whole poached chicken and a sauce made with béchamel, hollandaise, Parmesan cheese, and whipped cream. The ingredients were combined à la minute (just before being plated) and broiled to perfection. Sounds good, but if we’re counting right, that’s at least five pots, four recipes, and more time than we’d care to spend in the kitchen. No wonder most “modern” recipes rely on canned soup. We wanted to bring Divan into the 21st century without compromising the flavors of the original dish.
