Roasted Broccoli

Broccoli, unfortunately, gets a bad rap. Perhaps it’s because it is often treated with a lack of respect and cooked within inches of dear life. Treated properly, it is one of life’s many simple pleasures. There are many ways to cook broccoli but one of the easiest is simply roasting them with a little olive oil and salt until they are tender with some charred tips. The high heat of the oven helps concentrate and caramelize the natural sugars while giving it nice char to give it a more robust and deep flavor. You can eat it as is, dress it up with a squeeze of lemon, add toasted nuts, combine it with other roasted vegetables, or in this case, add to your bowl of Howl Mac & Chef.

INGREDIENTS

1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets
Olive oil
Salt (to taste)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In a bowl, combine broccoli florets, olive oil, and salt. Toss the broccoli in the oil until the florets are evenly coated.
3. Space out florets onto a baking tray to avoid crowding. This allows the high heat to reach more of the nooks and crannies and minimizes it from trapping steam which will prevent them from charring.
4. Roast for about 12-15 minutes until tender and charred to your liking. Remove and serve. Feel free to add a squeeze of lemon juice and/or zest, toasted nuts, or other seasoning to punch up the flavor.