Oven Roasted Broccoli

As a kid, I disliked many vegetables, but I think none more so than broccoli. I absolutely detested the vile green vegetable and couldn't agree more when President George H. Bush proclaimed his hatred towards this menace of a plant in the 90's.

Whenever broccoli made an appearance on my dinner plate, I knew it was going to be a long night for me. I usually had to stay at the dinner table until I ate all of my vegetables....and sometimes they made a reappearance at breakfast if I didn't choke them down by bedtime. As I got older I devised new ways of making the despised veggie disappear; I often hid florets in my napkin, balled up under the edge of my plate. I even went so far as to drop them in my milk glass, which would then be poured down the sink or in the toilet when no one was looking. I never was very good at dropping food on the floor for the dog, mainly because the dog always sat under my brother's chair on the other side of the table.

As an adult, I still dislike broccoli. The husband on the other hand looooooooves it. Ugh. I am forced to pick it out of stir fry and eat around it when it makes an appearance in other dishes. With two stalks of the green menace in the crisper....organic broccoli at that...I decided to try a new method of cooking. I enjoy oven-roasted cauliflower and asparagus (two other veggies I wouldn't eat as a kid), so I gave oven-roasted broccoli a try.

This recipe, with a nice sprinkle of parm cheese, made me rethink my hatred of broccoli. While I still won't be offering to eat broccoli on a regular basis, this was really good and I found myself eating a second helping.

Oven Roasted Broccoli
Source: Food Network
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound broccoli, rinsed and trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan or sharp Cheddar

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets into bite size pieces. Cut the stalk into 1/8-inch thick, round slices (I just used the florets and discarded the stems). Place the broccoli into a mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil, garlic, kosher salt and pepper and set aside.

Spread the panko into a 13 by 9-inch pan and place into the oven for 2 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove the panko from the oven and add to the bowl with the broccoli mixture. Toss to combine.

Return the broccoli mixture to the pan, place in the oven and roast just until the broccoli is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, toss in the cheese and serve immediately.