TBFKAOP Presents: Oven Roasted Broccoli

Have you ever watched your toddler throw an all out fit because you aren’t having broccoli for dinner? No? Then you obviously haven’t made oven roasted broccoli. And there’s really no reason NOT to make it – it’s healthy green, it’s easy, and it’s incredibly delicious.

Let me back up a second … I’m sure right now you’re all going, “Um, OK. I like broccoli. But who ARE you and what are you doing on RITK?” Well, I’m Jenn from TBFKAOP, a friend of Amy’s, and a lover of all things vegetable. Or most things vegetable. As a vegetarian, you sorta have to be that way.

Back to the broccoli – I first saw this recipe on The Amateur Gourmet. It's an adaptation of a recipe from The Barefoot Contessa. On The Amateur Gourmet’s blog, he mentions that his friend said this broccoli recipe would make kids beg for broccoli. He was right. Or, if your kid is only two, it would make your kid throw herself in the floor screaming, “WHERE ARE THE TREES!?! I need trees for dinner!” It might also make your husband (who until this recipe only consumed broccoli in the raw form and is not a vegetarian or vegetable lover) do something similar.

My recipe is similar to that on the blog, with a few adaptations for areas where I’m lazy and/or messy. Here’s what you’ll need:

Two bunches of broccoli

Olive Oil

4 garlic cloves

Salt and Pepper

1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan

Half a lemon

And, you know, an oven, a bowl and a cookie sheet.

First thing’s first – pre-heat your oven to 425deg. The Amateur Gourmet says (via Jacques Pepin) that you don’t need to wash your broccoli. That sorta freaks me out, so I wash mine and dry thoroughly. Then cut into florets. Here’s the adaptation for me being mess – I put the florets in a bowl, THEN drizzle on the olive oil. Eyeball it – should be just enough to coat the broccoli thoroughly. Then add in a bit of salt and pepper, the 4 garlic cloves, and toss well.

Once you’re satisfied with your tossing abilities, spread the broccoli on the pan and stick it in the oven for about 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and squirt the lemon over the broccoli. Then spread the Parmesan over the whole thing.

Then eat it. Eat LOTS of it. And probably add it to your meal plan for the next week because you’re going to want to be seeing it again very soon.