Roasted broccoli

I always eat steamed broccoli so when I saw this recipe on Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals, I had to try it for myself. I would have never thought to roast broccoli but it totally works and the flavor is just incredible! First things first, she uses way to much oil in all of her recipes. To be fair, most chefs call for much more oil than necessary, including Martha Stewart, so as a general rule of thumb start with less because you can always add more later!

The original recipe can be found on the Food network website.

Makes 2 servings
Time: 30 minutes, most of which is oven time

Ingredients
-2 tbsp olive oil
-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
-1 bunch of broccoli, cut into thin long spears
-salt to taste

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

First, when I say bunch, I mean bunch, not a head, if that makes sense. Trim the end of the broccoli a bit because it tends to be tough....cut about 1 inch to 1.5 inches off. Cut broccoli in half, length wise, and half again, such that you have 4 spears. Hope that makes sense.

In a bowl, toss olive oil, garlic, and salt together. Toss in broccoli and coat event. Place broccoli on non-stick baking sheet, and put sheet on top rack of oven. Roast the broccoli for 25 minutes until ends are crisp, brown, and stalks are tender.

Rachel's recipe calls for 17 to 20 minute minutes of oven time but I found that at that time, the fork test indicated more time. At 25 minutes it was much better. However, when it came time to eat it, I found that the outer skin (on the stems, not the floret part) was a bit tough, and hard to chew and swallow. The inner part of the broccoli was fine. I think next time, I will peel the stem a bit which I think will help with the toughness and reduce the oven time.

The flavor of this broccoli was incredible. The florets were crispy and so flavorful. The olive oil and garlic really enhance the flavor of this veggie so much. I will definitely make this recipe again.

No pictures. Half way through eating the broccoli I realized that I had not taken pictures. I was so excited to eat it that I didn't see the camera on the table.