Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli

One of my favorite celebrity chefs is Ina Garten - the author and host of the Food Network show, The Barefoot Contessa. Her recipes are easy to follow and always full of well balanced flavors. Here's her recipe of Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli that I prepared recently for dinner. This absolutely to DIE for! On top of being delicious, vegetarian and relatively healthy, it's also very simple and take no time to throw together. Ina says that even people who don't normally like broccoli will enjoy this recipe... and I'll second that. Lemon juice, garlic and dry roasted pine nuts... topped with a nice aged Parmesan cheese... that just makes my mouth water.

Note - If you've never cooked with pine nuts (like myself prior to this recipe), I'll warn you that sometimes they can be expensive... depending, of course, on where you buy them. They were $17.95 per pound at the Farmers Market I went to... which scared me until I realized that a pine nut is extremely light... so an entire pound would be waaay too many. You don't need very many for this recipe - about a handful.


Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli

Ingredients

4 to 5 pounds of broccoli
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Good olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart. You should have about 8 cups of florets. Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer.

3. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil.

4. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.

5. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.

6. Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil.

7. Serve hot.

To see the video of Ina Garten preparing this recipe, click here.