The two heads of broccoli in the fridge were for another recipe. They weren't meant for the Parmesan Roasted Broccoli. The broccoli was supposed to be made as a kind of pesto, which I would make with chicken.
Well, time passed and the poor broccoli was reaching middle age -- not good for the nutritional value or the appearance.
The recipe I ended up with was full of flavor from lemon and garlic. It was easy to make and very satisfying.
I wanted to come up with a tasty way to use up the broccoli and lemon kept popping in my mind. . . a delicious lemon sauce.
I was craving the taste of lemon, but honestly, I needed to use up a lemon that was turning into a bocce ball.
Do you think the lemon was subliminally trying to tell me something? I was at Plan B with the broccoli. As I looked through the saved broccoli recipes, I just wasn't feeling it. Everything was leaving me with a "ho-hum" feeling. I wanted inspiration. . . a challenge. . . taste
. . .I wanted EASY!
It was time to search the cookbooks.
- I knew I didn't want to microwave the broccoli
- I knew I didn't want to steam it
- I didn't want to simmer it in salted water.
It now seemed that my only choice was either raw or roasted. I've had my fair share of raw broccoli over the years. I usually enjoyed it as an appetizer. Sometimes, I had it with dip. Other times, it was a snack when I was dieting and feeling really hungry!
I had eliminated everything else and now all that was left was Plan C -- roasted broccoli.
As I paged through the cookbooks I found an interesting broccoli recipe by Ina Gartin in her cookbook Back to Basics.
The roasted broccoli recipe sounded as if were tailor-made for this Italian family.
- It used extra-virgin olive oil to coat the broccoli.
- What self-respecting Italian wouldn't be happy that a touch of garlic?
- Parmesan cheese added additional flavor to the dish.
- Basil was included -- I had an abundance (an understatement) of the herb!
The fate of the lemon was sealed. We'd add it to the roasted broccoli as zest and a zing of fresh lemon juice. Perfetto!
The recipe called for toasted pine nuts. Instead, I used the extra roasted sunflower seeds I had. They worked perfectly in our Italian Summer Salad with Basil Dressing.
Ecco!! Parmesan Roasted Broccoli was it. Era delizioso ( it was delicious).
Another vegetable that we just gave a major upgrade was our carrots. With a sweet marsala glaze and chopped hazelnuts, this dish adds color, crunch, and lass to your dinner table. You don't want to miss out on Glazed Marsala Carrots. It's a side dish that steals the dinner show.
Un caro saluto e ala prossima.
📖 Recipe
Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
Ingredients
- 2 large heads of broccoli
- 4 garlic cloves peeled and thinly sliced
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest
- Juice of one fresh lemon
- 3 Tablespoons roasted sunflower seeds
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tablespoons julienned cut in slender slices fresh basil leaves. (about 12 leaves)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- Wash the broccoli and cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalk, leaving some of the stalk attached. Pull the florets apart. You don't want too small of pieces.
- Place the broccoli florets on a foil lined sheet pan large enough to hold them all in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with about 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and red pepper flakes. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.
- Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 ½ tablespoons olive oi, the lemon zest, lemon juice, sunflower seeds, Parmesan, and basil.
- Serve hot.
Notes
- Adapted from Ina Garten's Back to Basics recipe.
Nutrition
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