"broccoli" news and stories

Roasted broccoli with shrimp. Photo: Sarah LeTrent

Few of us want to make a complicated lasagna for solo dining -- by day six, you'll never want to see lasagna again! In this series, AOL Food staffer Sarah LeTrent taste-tests simple recipes suitable for a "table for one."

Grilling out defines summer, but after a busy weekday, few people feel like manning the grill or huddling over a hot grill pan. In this recipe, the oven does all the dirty work for you.

Enter this often overlooked and underrated method of cooking: roasting.

Try this method for broccoli and shrimp. Roasting caramelizes the natural sugars and brings out both ingredients' natural sweetness.

Cool and creamy broccoli soup. Photo: Brent Ridge, Beekman 1802.

Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell are the farmers and innovators behind Beekman 1802, a 200-year-old estate and farm in upstate New York. We'll be running recipes, photos and tales from the farm as their crops come into season.

When we were younger, our moms had to work really hard to get us to eat broccoli. First they became magical, miniature trees. Then once we wised up to that, it had to be camouflaged with something like melted Velveeta or ranch dressing.

Now we don't think broccoli needs much adornment at all. In fact, we are so prone to picking and eating it right in the garden that it often never actually makes it to the kitchen.

Our heirloom broccoli and an amazing recipe after the jump.

Let me first say that I am not proud. I am not proud of having bought a bag of pre-cut broccoli and cauliflower florets in the first place. Broccoli and cauliflower are ridiculously easy to slice up, so I realize that the slight convenience is hardly worth the markup. Next, I'm not proud of waiting until brown spots had appeared on the veggies to cook them up. But I was hungry, so I pared those brown parts right off and quickly disposed of the evidence.

Then it was time to cook, and things were looking up. I decided to douse them with spices and roast them until they were, well, browned again, but in a good way this time. When I shook them around the pan halfway through, I was sure I'd overdone the spices. But once they were finished cooking, the spices had formed a savory partial crust over the florets, making for a splendid side. Redemption was mine.

Here's the method:

3 cups broccoli and cauliflower florets
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander

Preheat oven to 425º. In a bowl, toss veggie florets with remaining ingredients. Spread in a single layer on a sheet pan and roast, stirring halfway through the cooking, about 20 minutes or until veggies have begun to brown and spices form a crust.

Perhaps I'm cheating, or defeating the steaming purpose, but what follows is a ridiculously quick and simple way to season your broccoli giving it both depth and a light bite.

Just as your broccoli is about to be finished steaming, melt some butter in a pan. Just as it completely melts, turn the heat off and sprinkle the butter with some lime or lemon zest. Let it sit for a little bit as you get everything in order, and once the broccoli is in a dish, simply pour the small amount of butter and zest over the broccoli, then give it a few twists of black pepper, and -- the important final touch -- garlic salt. No, not that powdered stuff that comes in a shaker, but garlic-flavored sea salt. A few sprinkles of that gives that nice bite of salt and the richness of garlic, which is the perfect match to the citrus butter.

Added tip: I keep a jar of zest in my freezer from previously used key limes, so for this, I just picked up a pinch out of the jar and tossed it in the pan. Freezer zest is a great way to completely use up your fruit and quickly flavor a dish.

I was inspired to make this recipe yesterday when I was going through Whole Foods and saw the gorgeous broccoli crowns that are in season right now. While the color of this sauce speaks for itself, broccoli enhances this dish, giving it a fresh, earthy appeal. Great as a side dish or even a main- Penne with broccoli sauce is a light, healthy dish that's bursting with flavor.

Read on for the recipe from the cookbook: Fresh From the Farmers' Market by Janet Fletcher.