Roasted Broccoli

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for a long long time, I’m not sure what took me so long to make it, but here ya go!  It was delicious!  Definitely a keeper.  I love roasting veggies, so easy and they taste so good!  My favorite way to eat broccoli is of course, covered in cheese.  Covers over the broccoli flavor.  Well cheesy broccoli isn’t exactly figure friendly, so I wanted broccoli infused with flavor.  This recipe delivers on flavor!  Plus you can add a smidge of parmesan cheese on top, perfect!

Oven Roasted Broccoli with Lemon, Chili-Garlic Oil and Parmesan
(as seen on Shawnda’s blog, originally from Pinch My Salt)

Ingredients:

1 bunch of broccoli (approx 3 cups)
¼ C. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed
¼ t. crushed red pepper (optional)
Juice of ½ lemon
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
Fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Heat the oil and garlic in a small saucepan over low heat. Make sure the heat is low and that the garlic is not cooking too fast. Set timer for five minutes.
3. While garlic oil is heating, wash and cut your broccoli into pieces. I cut the flowerets into halves and/or quarters and leave a couple inches of stem attached to each piece.
4. After the oil and garlic has heated for five minutes (the garlic should be turning golden brown, not burning!), add the crushed chili if using, heat for an additional minute then turn off stove.
5. Strain chili-garlic oil into a large, heat-proof mixing bowl then add the broccoli.
6. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the bowl then add a pinch of coarse salt (keep in mind that the cheese will add more saltiness) and several grinds of black pepper (if you don’t have a pepper grinder, why not??).
7. Toss everything together well with a big wooden spoon so that each piece of broccoli has a thin coating of oil.
8. Using tongs, so that the excess oil drains off, remove the broccoli to a rimmed baking sheet and spread it out in a single layer.
9. Place broccoli in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes. If your oven tends to be hot, check the broccoli earlier. If you like it to be extra tender, leave it in longer. At 10 minutes, the broccoli will have started to caramelize on the bottom and may even look a little burnt but don’t worry, it will taste good!
10. While the broccoli is roasting, grate some fresh Parmesan cheese (I prefer parmigiano reggiano).
11. When the broccoli is done to your liking, immediately toss it with as much cheese as you desire and enjoy!

Serving =  1/2 cup broccoli

WW points per serving = 3

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