Divine Lemony Roasted Broccoli

My love affair with roasted Brussels sprouts rages on. I just love the way roasting brings out their sweetness, and enhances their nutty flavor. I’ve been so enjoying them that I decided to see if I could recreate the joyful experience with broccoli, their cruciferous cousin.

I looked online to see what temp to roast broccoli at and found this simple, yummy sounding recipe from Ina Garten, a.k.a., the Barefoot Contessa, for lemony roasted broccoli that I modified slightly. The prep is very simple — you wash and cut up the broccoli into florets and chunks — I always include the stem as it’s just as tasty and nutritious as the florets — no need to waste it! Toss with olive oil, minced garlic, lemon zest, sea salt and freshly ground pepper and spread in a single layer on a heavy baking sheet.

Roast at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, flipping once to ensure even roasting. Et voila, you’ve got the most divine, sweetly caramelized, richly nutty, fragrantly garlicky, lemony treat you can imagine. It may not look like much but it will melt in your mouth. It’s great on its own as a side or topped with Parmesan cheese and mixed with pasta.

Lemony Roasted Broccoli
Serves 2-4 as a side

Ingredients
* 1 large bunch of broccoli, cleaned, trimmed and cut into florets and chunks of a similar size
* Zest of two lemons (get organic since you’ll be using the skin) and the juice of one of them
* 3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
* 3-4 Tbsps olive oil for roasting
* Sea salt
* Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the broccoli florets on a heavy baking sheet large enough to hold them in a single layer.
2. Toss the garlic with half the lemon zest, all of the garlic, sea salt, pepper, and the olive oil. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping once to ensure even roasting, until the pieces are crisp-tender and browned at the tips.
3. Remove the broccoli from the oven and toss with other half of the lemon zest and the juice from one lemon. Serve hot.
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Patricia H.

12:08AM PDT on Apr 21, 2012

thanks for this recipe,sounds good

April 21
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JL A.

7:36AM PDT on Apr 6, 2012

yum

April 6
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Jennifer C.

4:44AM PST on Feb 18, 2012

Fabulous recipes. Thanks for sharing.

February 18
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Melinda K.

12:05AM PST on Feb 17, 2012

I finally tried this, it was good but I would redo it just with the garlic

February 17
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Sheri P.

7:04PM PST on Feb 12, 2012

YUM! I wanna try the roasted brussels sprouts as well!!

February 12
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Vicky P.

3:37PM PST on Feb 6, 2012

thanks

February 6
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Betsy B.

10:09PM PST on Feb 1, 2012

Thank you. The recipe is fabulous and so are your suggestions for it. Yes, it would be a very fine meal as a pasta dish.

February 1
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Carmen S.

3:46PM PST on Jan 30, 2012

sound great, love both broccoli and lemons

January 30
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Anne G.

8:06AM PST on Jan 24, 2012

Sounds good, will have to try it, I love broccoli.

January 24
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Jane R.

5:47PM PST on Jan 22, 2012

This was okay, however the instructions weren't clear. Step #2 didn't make sense. I added a little grated parmesan cheese at the end and this helped the flavor.
Too time consuming for the end results. I won't make it again.