Not a fan of broccoli? You will be adding cheese and garlic

My sister, Mary Pat, is a great cook and an even better baker. Sweets are her thing but as the mother of three active boys, dinner always comes first chronologically speaking!

One recent night, I had dinner at her house. When I asked if there was anything that I could do to help, she replied that it was all done. When I arrived, the house smelled divine as the Chicken Marbella was already in the oven.

We enjoyed a glass of wine as she cleaned and trimmed some broccoli, apologizing for making it because it is well known in my family that I am not a fan of broccoli, but everyone else loves it. I answered that it was OK, it would give me even more room for her raspberry-topped Tres Leche Cake that was resting in the refrigerator. When I think about eating a well-balanced meal, I have long wanted to like broccoli, but spinach always trumped broccoli at least up until now.

As we sat down, Mary Pat brought the steaming broccoli dish to the table. It actually looked promising. Bright green florets with a dusting of Parmesan cheese and the rich smell of roasted garlic. I had to try it. It was really good. I ate every piece and had a second helping. And, the next morning, I was still thinking about the broccoli.

My sister adapted the recipe from a popular pasta that her Italian friend Roberto Broglia, owner of the legendary but now closed restaurant Pasta Mia in Washington D.C., made.

Mary Pat remembered that he blanched the broccoli florets, tossed them with a generous amount of garlic olive oil and caramelized garlic cloves. He added the garlicky vegetable to al dente pasta and finished it with lots of real Parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of red-pepper flakes.

As my sister started cooking for her family, she looked for new ways to make broccoli that was both healthy and delicious. She remembered the broccoli pasta and started making it sans pasta, and the rest is history. Now, I have broccoli on my home rotation. Will wonders never cease?

ELIZABETH KARMEL VIA AP Broccoli with a dusting of parmesan cheese and roasted garlic