I don’t really care for steamed broccoli. Never have. I’ll tolerate raw broccoli (with copious amounts of Chiz’s ranch dressing), and I like it in things like Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo, but steamed and by itself….no thanks. The problem is, it’s such a simple and easy way to serve a vegetable with dinner. Well, here is a great solution….
Roasting!
I love roasting just about any vegetable, and broccoli is no exception. There were a few recipes for it online that were all pretty similar, and I’ve made it so many times that I usually just wing it. It’s so simple and SO yummy.
Preheat to oven to 425 degrees.
Chop the broccoli into good size pieces - if it’s too small, it’ll get too burnt too quickly. Spray a cookie sheet, a casserole dish, whatever kind of pan you’d like, with cooking spray. Place the raw broccoli in/on it. It’s okay if the pan is pretty full - it’ll cook down a bit.
Shake on some salt and pepper, add a tsp or so of minced garlic, and drizzle with olive oil. Toss with a spoon. Place in the preheated oven and roast for 15-25 minutes.
Keep an eye on it while you are cooking the rest of your meal. Toss it with the spoon every five or ten minutes or so. You want the broccoli to caramelize, but not to burn.
This is best eaten right out of the oven. It can sit for a few minutes, but try to serve it right away. Right before serving, splash with a couple tbsp of lemon juice, and then sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
We served this alongside leftover mashed potatoes and Cornmeal-Crusted Tilapia (dip tilapia filets in an egg wash and then in cornmeal, seasoned with parmesan cheese and your favorites spices, then fry in pan coated with cooking spray). I coated the tilapia first and put it in the fridge, and then got the broccoli ready. While the broccoli was roasting I cooked the fish and reheated the mashed potatoes. Tilapia is a really good, affordable fish. Salmon is so good for you, but so expensive. And tilapia filets are huge! I usually can’t finish a whole one.
My pictures skills are really crappy, huh? I need some practice with food photography...
I love how you tell us how we can time everything efficiently. for example: "While the chicken was cooking you started the couscous, or you made the marinade for the chicken in advance so you could just focus on everything else..." Or "while the chutney was cooling you prepared the other part" and so on. It seems like I can never time things right with recipes because I never know how long certain processes take and so then It takes me FOREVER to finish and by the end my kitchen is a mess, I'm sweating, stressed out, and basically not interseted in eating the finished product haha!
ReplyDeleteLooks good Jennie! Finally added you to my blog list so I can keep track of updates. I'm excited to try the roasted broccoli. Thanks!
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