This Whole Roasted Broccoli has to be one of the easiest yet extremely gratifying side dishes and it happens to be the perfect starter dish for a Holiday dinner. There is something about the charred flavor of broccoli that I adore! I had some extra salsa verde and thought to myself that I should try it on top of some charred broccoli. I am sure glad that I did because it was outstanding and I know you are going to love it too!
We had a really awesome Thanksgiving this year, how about you? If you read my last post you know that we had some of our friends and their kids over, 11 people in total. Beto and clan arrived first and Paloma immediately wanted to do a dance performance that she had been practicing. She had a special Thanksgiving tutu just for the occasion. She had choreographed a dance routine to Flamenco music and it was fantastic! After she completed her performance, Beto put on the Mexican Hat song and little Severin started his own little dance. I believe they had practiced their routines at least twice before they came and little Severin was so good that I just about died!
Everyone made amazing food and there was a ton to eat along with lots of wine. We adults had a great time and I must admit the wine went straight to my head! I haven’t been drinking that much lately so it affects me much more these days. Needless to say, I had a blast! Alison had invited her daughter’s friend because her parents had to work. It was really cute because Paloma and her really hit it off. The kids had the time of their lives, running around the house like crazy people. We thought that if they went down to the beach, they would burn up most of their energy but we were wrong. Haha!
I don’t know about you but I feel like I’ve been going a million miles an hour for weeks now. Don’t get me wrong; I love it but the day after Thanksgiving I took the opportunity to relax, disconnect and have myself a Gilmore Girls marathon. It was the perfect day to stay away from all the Black Friday crowds and thoroughly enjoy myself. Now it is time to prepare for Christmas, are you ready?? I have some great recipes in store so keep an eye out for them.
I love a glass of Soave with this dish but it goes with just about any white wine.
Whole Roasted Broccoli Recipe:
Ingredients
Roasted Broccoli
- 1 Large Broccoli Head - roasted
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Sprinkle of Sea Salt or Maldon Salt
Tomato Italian Style Salsa
- 1/2 Cup about 1 Tomato – minced
- 1/4 Cup Asiago Cheese – finely shredded
- 1/4 Cup Parsley – minced
- 1/2 Cup Basil – minced
- 3 Tablespoons Chives – minced
- 2 Tablespoons Mint optional – minced
- 1 Tablespoon Capers – roughly chopped
- 2 Cloves Garlic – minced
- 1 Shallots – minced
- 1 Tablespoons Lemon Juice – fresh squeezed
- 1/4 Teaspoon Lemon Zest – microplaned
- 1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons White Wine Vinegar or to taste
- 1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Peppers - or to taste
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt - or to taste
- Black Pepper to taste
Instructions
Broccoli
-
Preheat oven to 425 Degrees
-
Cut the stem off of the broccoli as even as you can so it will stand up and place on a baking sheet.
-
With a pastry brush or your fingers spread on olive oil over the whole head.
-
Sprinkle with a little salt and place on the middle-upper rack.
-
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until you see some black char.
Tomato Italian Style Salsa
-
Mince the tomato into tiny pieces, finely shred the Asiago, coarsely chop herbs and capers, mince the shallots, chop garlic very fine and with a lemon juicer juice the lemon.
-
Measure and add to a medium-sized bowl.
-
Measure and add the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper then mix well.
-
Let sit a bit to incorporate flavors.
-
You want this to be at room temperature so you won't cool down the broccoli.
-
I often make a double batch of sauce to enjoy later with a nice loaf of crusty bread!
Assemble
-
Spread a little of the salsa on top of the broccoli and serve the rest on the side to add as much as you like.
Health benefits:
Broccoli has cholesterol-lowering ability and a strong impact on our body’s detoxification system. It is also rich in both forms of dietary fiber, soluble and insoluble. It is very high in vitamin C & K.
