^{A simple broccoli side that will finally welcome your family into the“Clean Plate Club”. Nothing a little cheese and garlic can’t fix!}

Known fact – I used to bring broccoli to work for lunch ever single day. It was such a lean side to either a piece of chicken, egg whites and sometimes a sweet potato (oh the luxury….). I was known for also bringing a whole bottle of buffalo or hot sauce along too. Maybe both. (It didn’t make me want to fall asleep after lunch.) I was a girl with a weird reputation…that’s for sure.

Grown up me (and by grown up I mean 4 years later) has upped the broccoli game because I’ve noticed that it’s not everyone’s favorite. I personally could eat it steamed and plain but I have a family member who has to have butter all over it to mask the flavor.

As an Italian, we use a lot of similar herbs and flavors in our cooking. This pairs well with a lot of Italian or Mediterranean meals because of the fresh, clean ingredients. I’m talking garlic, citrus and a hell of a lot of herbs.

This recipe should cure it for all. It’s herbaceous with a nice lemon finish. I feel like I need to explain why I add cheese to this. I’m pretty sure everyone knows that broccoli and cheese make a happily married couple…so no regrets on that. It may look like a basic broccoli side but it’s so much more. Also – ROASTING is the key.

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Italian Roasted Broccoli

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A simple broccoli side that will finally welcome your family into the“Clean Plate Club". Nothing a little cheese and garlic can’t fix!

Prep Time:10

Cook Time:25

Ingredients

1½ pounds fresh broccoli
1 tablespoon garlic minced
1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, thyme, marjoram)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 medium lemon zest and juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°
Line a large baking sheet with foil. Spray foil with non stick cooking spray.
Cut apart the broccoli, removing the bottom stem by breaking off even sized florets. Place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Add garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper, salt and pepper. With your hands, toss all the ingredients together until coated and then spread the broccoli florets out on the baking sheet so they are not crowding each other. Keep broccoli in a single layer.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Broccoli should be crispy around the edges and tender in the middle. If not, put back into the oven for 3-5 more minutes. After removing the broccoli from the oven, sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese, lemon zest and juice. Add salt and pepper for taste if needed.

Notes

Ingredients and Techniques

I hate to say this but you DO have to really find a good cut of broccoli. If you want to cheat and buy the precut version, that’s totally fine but make sure there is NO browning in large spots on it. I bought that version recently thinking some browning was a part of the tree I could cut away. It was not pleasant at all, none of it. Just go as fresh as possible!

Keep everything in this recipe as fresh as possible like the lemon and cheese. The one thing you can substitute would be the herbs. Dried herbs work fine with this. Then again, if you have fresh herbs laying around like thyme, rosemary, oregano or basil then you can sprinkle these on at the end. Because it cooks for a little time the dried herbs work well to stick to the broccoli and can hold up in the oven.

How long does it last and where?

This lasts in the fridge in an airtight container for 5-6 days.

Can you freeze it?

I have eaten a lot of frozen broccoli in my day. It’s something I love to have on hand. I think what makes this recipe so great is it cooks fresh and that’s how it stays flavorful. If you’re planning on using this in a soup or puree in the near future then freezing it after it cools would be ok.

Usually if you are freezing broccoli fresh you only parboil it. This recipe calls for a full cook.

So I would say hold off on the freezing part.

Substitutions?

Not much in this recipe can be a substitute. Leave out whatever you prefer not to taste. And if you want to keep it vegan – don’t add cheese. It’s as simple as that.

Tips and tricks

Make sure that everything is fresh and cut to the same size.

You can double the recipe for larger crowds but remember to spread out the broccoli or else you may lose that nice crispiness that makes this special and really addicting.

What to serve it with or do with leftovers?

Leftover broccoli can be used in soups, quesadillas, egg scrambles…pretty much anything. Just remember this has a lot of seasoning on it as it is so when adding it to anything, just prepare to balance the salt and herbs accordingly.