Broccoli affogati alla Sapienza (Serves 6 sides)

This is one of my ultimate "comfort-food" dishes.  This is one of the 3 or 4 that I would always ask for when my grandparents would ask me "what do you want us to make for your visit?"

• 8 cups (2 good sized heads) of fresh broccoli including stems, separated and chopped no larger than 2 inch pieces  (1 inch for stem pieces)
• 2 cups of red or Spanish onion, sliced very thin
• 4 cloves of garlic sliced as thin as you can
• 2 cups of cubed Pecorino or Romano cheese - 1/2 inch cubes is ideal  (spice it up by using Pecorino con Pepe if you can find it - there are whole black-pepper corns in the cheese)
• 3 cups of good red wine  (Dryer is better - you can't go wrong with Chianti)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Take a pot, and alternately layer broccoli, onion, garlic & cheese cubes with a sprinkle of olive oil, salt & pepper. Layer until all the crew are on board the ship.  Add the wine over top and cover.  Place the vessel on medium-high heat until you see steam start to seep out from the cover.  When steaming, turn down to a simmer and let the broccoli drown a slow, painful death for about 20-30 minutes.  This is the only vegetable dish that I will ever recommend cooking your vegetables soft - highly worth it as the sumptuous texture is part of the comfort of this great side dish.