Roasted Broccoli

Thank you Ina Garten, for showing me how to roast vegetables, it has been a life changing experience.  I love every recipe that I have tried of hers and the roasting of vegetables was the crème de la crème.  Simply because you can roast almost any vegetable to tremendously kick up its flavor along with its natural sweetness.

Yesterday was quite chilly but the sun was shining and it was going to be a dry day, which is very unusual for January in Oregon, which was a sure sign that my husband was going to fire up his bbq. 

We decided on steaks and man-o-man, they were melt in your mouth delish. 

So as my husband and daughter were heading out the door to track down some steaks for dinner.  I asked them, “What would you rather have steamed, stir fried or roasted broccoli?”  To my surprise they both answered at the same time, “ROASTED” with absolute conviction as they headed out the door.

Now that I have roasted vegetables many times I can say that there is no real need for a recipe. 

·         It is just a matter of tossing them with olive oil and sprinkling them with kosher salt and black pepper. 

·         Slice up a couple of cloves of garlic and add them to the vegetables and spread them out on a sheet pan. 

·         Place the vegetables in a hot 400 degree oven for 20 – 25 minutes, giving them a little shake about 10 minutes into the cooking. 

·         They are ready when they get a little brown on the edges.

After the vegetables are cooked, you can enjoy them as they are or kick it up by adding;

·         lemon zest

·         a good squeeze of lemon juice

·         a drizzle of olive oil or butter

·         and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese