This roasted broccoli dinner is all about easy adaptability. Broccoli, tossed in a bit of spiced olive oil is roasted in a blistering hot oven. A creamy, tahini under-dressing is smeared generously across your serving platter. Everything is finished with magic mix of basil, peanuts, dried fruit, and scallions. Mark my words, people can’t get enough of it.
Why This Roasted Broccoli is So Good
One of the magic elements of this recipe is the pop of sweetness you get from using a bit of roasted dried fruit. So resist skipping out on the fruit. Seriously. I like using golden raisins because they plump up, ooze a bit of sugary juice, and then caramelize where the juice hits the baking sheet. But if sourcing them is a challenge, just go for chopped dried apricots, or chopped dates. It all comes off one sheet pan, plated on a single, family-style platter.
Inspiration:
Alison Roman has a brilliant version in her Dining In cookbook using cauliflower florets and dates. That was my starting point months ago, and this is where we ended up. A greened up third cousin of sorts.
More Variations
Caramelized and deeply-roasted broccoli is my favorite vegetable angle here, but don’t limit yourself. Other Ideas:
- Cauliflower: As mentioned above, Alison’s version uses cauliflower.
- Brussels Sprouts: Feathery leaves of Brussels sprouts make another great alternate, I like to shred them.
- Mixed Vegetables: Can’t decide? Do a mix of vegetables (the blend in the photo is mostly broccolini with a few handfuls of shredded brussels sprouts).
- No tahini? Almond butter or sunflower seed butter work nicely as well. A completely different direction is to mix a bit of salt into yogurt, spice it up a bit.
Roasted Broccoli Dinner
You can see (above) I serve the broccoli platter alongside simple soba noodles tossed with a splash of olive oil, seasoned with a pinch of salt, and sprinkled with a mix of seeds. I boil the soba noodles while the vegetables are roasting, and it makes for a nice meal.
More Broccoli Recipes
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