Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The Best Broccoli of Your Life

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This recipe is from Adam over at Amateur GourmetSee his recipe or follow the recipe here (with my additions and improvements in red):
The Best Broccoli of Your Life - Serves 12
(This recipe is Adam's interpretation of Ina Garten's recipe. He does not quote her title for the recipe, but he alludes to the name of the cookbook: Back to the Basics.)
Ingredients:
4 to 5 lbs of Broccoli, cut into relatively big florets, dried throughly
(At this point in the recipe Adam includes a short paragraph about washing and drying anything you plan on eating...dry them THOROUGHLY. That is, if you wash them. I saw an episode of Julia Child cooking with Jacques Pepin once when Pepin revealed he doesn't wash chicken before putting it in a hot oven: "The heat kills all the germs," he said in his French accent. "If bacteria could survive that oven, it deserves to kill me." By that logic, then, I didn't wash my broccoli; I wanted it to get crispy and brown. If you're nervous, though, just wash and dry it obsessively. I, personally, can't recommend the no wash policy. I once lived in the heart of California's Salad Bowl Capitol of the World, Salinas, California. I lived in an old adobe house surrounded by lettuce, broccoli and strawberry fields. If I had a penny for every time I saw a field worker wash his/her hands after using the porta-potties, I would now be a billionaire. I saw field workers wash their hands about the number of times I saw a polar bear on my porch. A billionaire I am not! I washed the broccoli really well, dried it and then let it air dry for about 30 minutes.)
Ingredients continued...
5 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsps Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground Pepper,
4 Garlic Cloves, peeled and sliced
1 Lemon
1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/3 cp freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
3 tbsp Pine Nuts
2 tbsps julienned fresh basil
Put the broccoli on a cookie sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. (If I were to do this recipe again, I would not add the garlic. The garlic, cooked at that high of a temperature, became very dark brown and had an overcooked quality to the dish. If I were to do this recipe again, I would either saute the garlic and add after the broccoli has cooked or instead of Kosher salt, sprinkle with garlic salt. Roast in the oven 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned. (20 minutes for my experiment.) I shook the pan around a bit as it went, but not sure that's necessary. (It wasn't.)
When it's done, take it out of the oven-and here's where it gets really good-zest a lemon over the broccoli, squeeze the lemon juice over the broccoli, add 1 1/2 tbsp more olive oil (I would leave this second flood of olive oil out), 3 tbsps toasted pine nuts (I left those out) and 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese. She also has you add 2 tbsps julienned fresh basil, but I left that out too. (I did not leave them out and LOVED the pine nuts, basil and lemon flavors together.) 
He concluded the recipe....You won't miss it (the pine nuts and basil): the magic combo of the crispy broccoli, the garlic, the lemon and the cheese will make this the best broccoli of your life. 
Serving Suggestions: We had this with Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Garlic Lime Chicken. A great time was had by all.
Nutritional Information:
12 Servings
Amount per serving: 
Calories:               150     
Fat:                        10.3g
Carbs:                    11.9g
Fiber                        6.2g
Protein:                    7.5g
Weight Watchers Points Plus Values: 4
Final Thoughts: I tried this recipe because it promised to be "the best broccoli" of my life. It wasn't. But it also wasn't the worst. Even though the garlic overcooked and the amount of olive oil was excessive, I still plan to make this again. I am full of hope and optimism that the next time it really will be the best broccoli of my life. I will keep you posted. I give this recipe 3 pins. 
If you just hopped over here from Pinterest, Welcome! Feel free to check out any of the other recipes I have reviewed. And come back for another visit sometime soon. - Lynn

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