Roasted Broccoli

Happy Memorial Day. I wanted to make sure I got one more post up before we leave for our vacation tomorrow morning. This is a fantastic recipe I stumbled across while looking for a way to use up some leftover broccoli. It is an Ina Garten recipe, so you know that it is good, that I found by way of The Amateur Gourmet. He was practically shouting from the rooftops about this broccoli, so I figured it was definitely worth a shot. I made this as an accompaniment to some grilled trout, caught fresh by my father-in-law, along with some rosemary roasted potatoes. This was one heck of a weeknight meal- super simple, but really enjoyable. Josh went on and on about the broccoli, mentioning to people days later. We both liked it so much I made it again the following week. This is definitely a keeper.

Roasted Broccoli
Recipe from Ina Garten via Amateur Gourmet














4 to 5 pounds of broccoli, washed and thoroughly dried, cut into florets
5 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1.5 tablespoons more
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• On a baking sheet, toss broccoli with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add garlic and toss again.
• Roast for 20-25 minutes, until tips of some florets are starting to brown.
• Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, additional olive oil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese and basil. Toss and serve.

My notes: I've given Ina's measurements, ingredients and amounts here, but I followed Adam's version more closely; leaving out the pine nuts and basil. Also, I had far less broccoli than the original recipe calls for so I just eyeballed my olive oil, salt, pepper. I skipped the lemon zest and additional olive oil, and just gave a good squeeze over all the broccoli with half a lemon. I grated the Parmesan over the broccoli till it looked like enough. I can only imagine how good this must be if you go all out, since this half-finished version was so darn delicious.