Roasted Broccoli with Lemon-Garlic

So, I've posted about roasting broccoli before.  It is still the only way I find that particular vegetable at all palatable.  I'd pretty much have to be starving before I'd eat steamed broccoli, I think.  I've also posted about how I think just about everything is delicious when roasted.  It is possibly my favorite cooking method.

Matt found a new roast broccoli recipe the other day.  It really didn't sound all that different than the other recipe we'd been using.  Broccoli, garlic, lemon, oil.  But, this recipe did have one new twist.  It called for roasting the broccoli stems, not just the florets!
Prior to reading this recipe I just thought that you didn't eat the thick, tough stems of broccoli plants.  I tossed them into the compost bin, trying my best to remember to chop them into smaller, more readily compostable bits as requested by Matt, compost pile tender.  Well, those days are over!  Broccoli is so, SO much more thrifty if you use the whole thing.  I mean, really, the stock is a huge part of its weight.  Why didn't I learn this sooner?!  Actually, I know the answer to that.  Until this year I considered broccoli as more of a poison than a vegetable and I wasn't really looking for thrifty ways to eat more of it.

Matt liked the florets better as he thought the stems were a tad too lemony.  I thought they were great.  I think they were more lemony because they don't have as strong of a broccoli taste to overcome as the florets do.  That was probably why I like the stems better.  Less broccoli taste!  : )

Roasted Broccoli with Lemon-Garlic
1 pound of broccoli
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 Cup lemon juice
2-4 Tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
Chop all the florets off as you usually would, leaving them in bite sized piece.
Strip the whole length of the remaining stem with vegetable peeler.  I'm told you want to peel it well or else it might get a little "woody."
Cut the stem into bite sized rings.

Arrange pieces of broccoli stem and florets in a large baking pan. It is okay if they are close together.

Using a small bowl and the back of a spoon  (or a mortar with a pestle if you have one) smash the garlic with the salt and pepper until it is a fairly smooth paste.
Put the lemon juice and oil in a small bowl.
Whisk in the garlic paste.
Pour the mixture evenly over the broccoli and turn broccoli until they are all coated.
Roast for 20-25 minutes, until the florets are starting to brown and the stems are tender when poked with a knife.

Comments

  1. I like broccoli all ways and will try your roasted version. The big stems I like to slice for stir fry--sort of like water chestnuts.

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    1. I did try it in a stir-fry and it wasn't bad! It wasn't the most amazing thing I'd ever eaten, but it was a positive start.

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  2. It is funny because I think broccoli just about any way is delicious. Poison...lol. I have never roasted broccoli.

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  3. Awesome! "Broccoli as poison" pretty much typically sums up my view of it, too, haha! (except in broccoli and cheese soup, where there is tons of creamy cheese and a little tiny bit of broccoli) But, I love lemon and I love garlic, so maybe this recipe can convert me too! I'll give it a try :) Thanks!
    -Jaime

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  4. EcoRover, that is a splendid idea. I could totally see it texture-wise. I am going to try it next stir-fry.

    Linda, my mom and my sister love it any which way. I always hated it. It stunk up the whole house. I'd never heard of roasting it until this year.

    Jamie, I kept trying to like it because Matt really liked it (and grows it in our garden)and because I hear it is so darn good for you. Roast is the only way I've enjoyed so far, but I'll keep trying and now that I know about the stems (which I really do think had milder flavor) I bet I can expand...to say, stir-fry. We'll see! I hope you enjoy it if you get crazy/brave enough to try it!

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  5. A guy I knew hated broccoli. One day, I had lots of it and was going to make spaghetti. I chopped broccoli into marble sized pieces, stirred it in the spaghetti sauce and waited until he took one bite. I asked him how it was (jar spaghetti), and he declared it delicious. When I tol him it was jar spaghetti and broccoli, he sort of poked around with his fork, shrugged his shoulders, said it was fine and continued eating. So, from then on, there was broccoli in the spaghetti. I did not really cook the broccoli, just heated it along with the jarred spaghetti. It was not crunchy but not soft. Do you think you could handle it in a tomato-based dish?

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    1. Yes, I think that might be another avenue to try. I have found I can learn to like nearly everything if it is chopped up into small enough bits and mixed up with other things I do love.

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  6. I'm a big broccoli fan, so this recipe looks yummy. thanks, BLD! We went out to eat last night, and knowing I wouldn't be able to eat everything, I asked them to sub broccoli for the side salad. For some reason, most restaurants seem to serve broccoli almost raw, so bring it home and add it to soups or stir fries.

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  7. I actually like to peel the stems and eat them raw. But I love broccoli, so that probably helps. The stems have always been my favorite part of the broccoli.

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    1. I am working my way up to loving broccoli, but the idea of it raw made me shudder. But, I am happy for you. I wish I liked it. I really, really do. But, like I said, work in progress.

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