Roasted Broccoli

Think you don’t like broccoli? Think again. Looking for a new, perhaps cheese-less, way to get the kiddos or grownups in your life to eat their veggies? This is the recipe for you. If you hadn’t noticed already (here, here, and here), I love to roast my vegetables. Roasting allows the natural sugars in foods to caramelize. The edges get crispier and the insides get sweeter.

Surprisingly, until recently I’d tried roasting just about every vegetable except broccoli. I had a couple of heads sitting in my fridge, so I decided to give it a go. Let me tell you, this will be my new go-to broccoli recipe. When they came out of the oven, the florets were like little crunchy, salty treats. The slightly charred edges had a smokey flavor that was really nothing short of addictive. In the interest of full disclosure, I have to tell you, the broccoli never made it to the table. We couldn’t stop eating it right off the baking sheet. So the next time you have some broccoli sitting around, give this recipe a try. Just be sure to make some extra – in case you eat half of it before it hits the table.

Roasted Broccoli

Ingredients:
5 cups broccoli florets (2 medium heads), rinsed and patted dry
2 T. olive oil
1/4-1/2 tsp. kosher (or other coarse) salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Toss thoroughly to combine.

Spread broccoli in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Roast for 5 minutes. Flip over florets and continue roasting for 10 minutes, or until edges are lightly charred and florets are still crisp. (You don’t want to overcook the broccoli, or it will be come soft and limp, not crispy and crunchy.)

** This is just the basic recipe. Feel free to jazz it up by adding some garlic or chili flakes before roasting. Or try some lemon juice or parmesan cheese when the broccoli is hot out of the oven. Just make sure you don’t skimp on the olive oil, since that’s what allows the broccoli to really crisp up.