Roasted broccoli; smoky refried beans
This broccoli wants to be roasted and eaten.
My grandfather did not like broccoli; wouldn’t eat it except about once a year when my mother made her cheese-smothered broccoli casserole for the holidays. But a friend of mine made some broccoli the other night that could make broccoli lovers out of many broccoli haters.
Personally, I love the stuff. And this Ina Garten recipe for broccoli roasted and topped with pine nuts, fresh basil, Parmesan and lemon zest was easy to make and really hit the spot. I could have eaten an entire plate of the stuff. The recipe calls for 4 to 5 pounds of broccoli, but one could easily halve that. It appears, from the Google searches I’ve done, to be a pretty popular recipe. Some of you may have tried it before. If you haven’t, see what you think!
On a different night, Howard and I decided to grill some chorizo from Sandy River Pork in Axton. This chorizo sausage was so good it didn’t need to be added to a recipe, although that would work, too. I decided to accompany it with some Spanish rice and refried beans.
The Spanish rice was super easy – it came from a box and only required a can of tomatoes added (I used no salt tomatoes). For the beans, I started with a couple of strips of bacon, which I chopped and sauteed with about 1/4 cup of onion until the bacon was crispy and the onion was translucent.
Next, I dumped in a can of pinto beans ( I drained off the juice on top but left the rest) and mashed up most of them, leaving some whole beans for texture. A little salt and pepper, maybe some hot sauce if you so desire, and cook these until they are nice and thick. Top with a little shredded cheddar. The bacon adds a nice, smoky flavor.
If you are vegetarian or want to lower the fat content, you could use smoked peppers instead. And there you have it – Mexican restaurant flavor at home. To find Walter’s chorizo, look for him at at the Roanoke City Farmers Market or his website here.
Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
An Ina Garten recipe
4 to 5 pounds broccoli
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)
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. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.
3. 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. Serve hot.
April 14, 2011 - 10:09 AM
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Love broccoli. This looks great.
Lindsey, I want to try that Cuban roast recipe with the chorizo….did you buy it locally?
Lindsey, roasted broccoli is one of my favorite ways to cook it! It was the Ina Garten recipe you posted that got me to try it. YUM! It’s just as delicious with olive oil, kosher salt and cracked pepper!
Kristen, I set aside and froze one of Walter’s sausages to make that dish but being the frugal person that I am, I’m waiting for eye of round to go on sale before I make it. Natalee’s mother makes it all the time so I felt comfortable that it was a well-tested recipe.
I love pine nuts! But have you seen the price of them lately? I just got back from the Bread Basket an hour ago, was going to pick some up and they’re now up to $36.72/lb! I’m afraid it’s going to be walnuts in my pesto this year! We’ve planted Korean Stone Pines but it’s going to be several years before we can start harvesting nuts from them.
Kristen, Sandy River Pork is usually at the Roanoke Farmer’s Market every Saturday.
We bought some of his brats last week. I was hoping to grill them this weekend but the weather doesn’t look like it will cooperate!
Last summer, another farmer was selling Sandy River’s products at the Grandin market on Saturday mornings, too.
Lori and Lindsey, thanks! I’ll go down there this weekend and get some.
In the 1/4 cow I bought this winter, there were (it seemed) zillions of roasts. We’re getting sick of pot roast so I was happy to see that recipe using a roast.
I’m looking forward to next month and our CSA starting up. We also signed up for a weekly “mystery” food share…basically it’s going to be some of whatever other stuff the contributig farmers are doing, whether preserves or honey or cheese (hopefully lots). Anyway from what I can tell, we won’t know from week to week what it’s going to be…I’m even more psyched for that than I am for the veggies. I welcome the challenge of planning the weeks meals with a bag of unknown stuff handed to me on Saturday morning…it almost feels like Iron Chef.
I just finished the refried beans for lunch today. Very tasty.
I’ve done the broccoli before in a similar manner. I did as follows…
Cut off the florets, then dump them in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil over them, and sprinkle them with garlic powder. Then place them on one of those pans used for grilling vegetables or fish, and put them on the grill, with closed lid. After about five minutes, toss them around, then grill for five more minutes.
Remove them from the grill, and sprinkle sliced almonds & fruit of your choice (sliced apples, pears, strawberries, mangoes, or even halved grape tomatoes).
It makes a fantastic primary side dish, especially if you drizzle it with balsamic vinegar and top it with shaved parmesan reggiano prior to serving.
Howard, you’re so lucky!
That sounds really good, Ab. Especially in the summertime when you don’t want to heat up the oven.
Other Rebecca, I have always thought pine nuts were expensive. But I remember getting them off trees when we lived in Colorado. I love the flavor of toasted nuts so much that I figure all kinds of nuts can be substituted into different recipes. I know sometimes one nut may be the best fit, but they are all good to me!
Trader Joes has pine nuts at a decent price…I’ve also found them at Big Lots at a good price.
I am yet to be enamored of pine nuts but I am a huge Broccoli fan. Thanks for the recipe and the idea.
BTW folks, if you could not use “cream of mushroom” soup in a mac & cheese recipe (allergies/aversion), what would be an acceptable substitute?
Sandi, it depends on what the allergy or aversion is to. If it is not dairy, then you could just make a basic white sauce… it would be easier to offer suggestions if I saw the recipe. Feel free to share it or email it to me if you want.
Ina Garten has some wonderful, yet simple recipes. I’ve been roasting veggies per her instructions for some time now and they never fail to please even my extremely picky husband! I made her Fleur de Sel Caramels and her Toasted Coconut Marshmallows for Christmas and the family loved them. Thanks for sharing with us, Lindsey!
I made this broccoli last night and it was a HUGE hit. I thought I made enough so we’d have leftovers, but it was almost all gone by the time dinner was over.
The little $4 jar of pine nuts was painful, and, although they were good, the dish would be fine without them. What really made it pop was the lemon.
Now that we’re headed into veggie season, I hope we get more great veg recipes like that!
Kristen, I’d suggest trying sliced almonds instead of the pine nuts. They are less expensive and still very tasty. If you toss them in with the broccoli as you roast it the last couple of minutes, it makes them especially crunchy. Or you can just put them in a small skillet for two minutes and get an even better effect.
I’ve tried pecans also, and they don’t do as well as the almonds…
Sandi, excluding the allergy concern – I’m going to guess allergy to mushrooms? – I’ve found that Cream of Celery soup makes a good substitute for Cream of Mushroom soup, especially if you want something with a lighter, less bold flavor. Cream of Chicken also works, too, but I would guess Cream of Celery would be better for the casserole.
I normally use Cream of Mushroom in the winter months, especially with beef dishes. Cream of Celery for the spring/summer months, with any other type of dish. That’s just me, though…