Like liver, broccoli is a food that some people loathe. While we are not among them, we love the way Mama Lo's recipe for broccoli casserole transforms the healthful stalk of veggie vitamins into a dish that is rich, luxurious, and not the least bit annoyingly nutritious.

We also love this dish because it reminds us of one of our all-time favorite roadfood cafés. Mama Lo's of Gainesville, Florida, is gone now, but for years it was a soul-food beacon for students and townies, blacks and whites, single workmen on lunch break and whole families who came to indulge in Mama's deliriously flavorful suppers. The plain, whitewashed building was tiny,with only a handful of seats and a single pool table for recreation. Because Mama hand-wrote the menu every morning based on what she found in the market, only three or four copies of it were written each day. They got passed around the dining room until, by the end of lunch hour, they were as limp as cooked cabbage.

As is typical of the best southern cafés, the roster of side dishes was a joy just to read, and whether you accompanied your pork chop and dressing with fried corn and baked apple ring or collards and mac 'n' cheese, each item arrived at the table in its own separate little dish. Among the best of them was this casserole, the recipe for which Mama Lo was kind enough to share with us. It has since become a staple side dish in our household.

6 servings

Butter
5 slices white bread, torn into bite-size pieces
1 bunch broccoli (1½-2 pounds)
3 large eggs
¼ cup milk
4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, melted
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square Pyrexbaking dish.

Cover the bottom of the dish generously with the torn bread. Cutthe broccoli (florets and tops of stems) into bite-sized pieces and laythem on top of the bread.

Mix together all the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl.Pour them over the broccoli and bread. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 35 minutes, until the cheese is thoroughly melted and thetop is browned. Serve warm.