The Contessa Makes Her Entrance

Historically, broccoli has been one of my favorite vegetables. As a kid, sometimes the only vegetable I might eat all week would be broccoli, steamed, with butter and salt. I didn’t like green beans, didn’t like bell peppers, didn’t even like lettuce. My poor mom. But I would always eat broccoli.

I seem to have been avoiding it of late, though, now that I’m all grown up. I’ve had a hard time finding interesting things to DO with broccoli. And since my dinners these days are more likely to be a Big Pot of Something, rather than a meat, a starch, and a vegetable partitioned on a plate, broccoli has not found its way into my fridge very often. (Notwithstanding, of course, the recent Cook’s Illustrated recipe I made, which was delicious.) But broccoli showed up again this week. And rather than redo the aforementioned success, I wanted to try yet another something new.

And so we opened up Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients, because that is exactly what I wanted. A basic recipe, but one worthy of the paper it’s printed on. And what we came up with was her Parmesan Roasted Broccoli.

First off, you cut the broccoli up into pieces. She uses only the florets, but I could not bear to throw away the stems, so those got cut up, too. Place in a baking dish in a single layer, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with slivers of garlic from a couple of cloves. Roast at 425F for about 20 minutes, until the florets start to brown.

Meanwhile, toast some pine nuts. (I’m getting better at not letting them burn.)

And then also meanwhile, mix up the dressing, which is olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, grated parmesan, and julienned basil leaves. (Picture courtesy of my camera freaking out temporarily.)

I was cutting down the recipe quite a bit, and I played a little fast and loose with the amounts for the dressing. That said, I would personally cut down on the lemon juice and zest. I am quite fond of lemon, but it was too dominant the way I made it. And also I’d use more basil, because I adore fresh basil. (Thanks, A., for the plant you gave me this year–I hope it survives the near-freezing rain we’re having this week.) And finally next time I make this I’ll likely add the parmesan after the cooked broccoli is in the bowl, so it melts and gets distributed a little more consistently.

I know it sounds like this recipe was a failure, but that is not the case. It was more of a learning experience. The techniques and flavors were all great, I just need to figure out the quantities for next time.

Served here with a grilled goat cheese sandwich, pickled peppers, and a fried egg.