We have no one to blame but ourselves, but Tuesday nights are hell. I’ll spare you the numbing logistical details, but all that’s relevant here is that a few times a month, by the time I pull into the driveway with the girls in the backseat, it’s almost 8:30 at night. We stagger through the door, shedding soccer bags, shin guards and rancid socks, the girls head upstairs to shower… and we start dinner. It’s late on a school night, and everyone is starving. The goal here, to be clear, is not a Michelin star. The goal is to get something on the table in 25 minutes, and then get the kids to bed. This means a no-fuss main (say, sweet Italian chicken sausage fried with some roughly sliced onions), a starch that will satisfy the hunger of a post-soccer-practicing hyena tween (bread fried in olive oil, or some quick potatoes), and a vegetable that does not require any washing, chopping, peeling, mandolin-ing, or de-stemming. One recent Tuesday night, I went with broccoli. I tossed it in the baking dish with a bunch of olive oil, salt, and pepper, cranked the oven to 450, and threw it in.
Fifteen minutes later, Abby came downstairs. She’s always the first to come down, dressed in her white nightgown with the little green flowers on it, running a brush through her still-wet hair. She walked into the kitchen, and stopped. She crinkled up her nose.
“What’s that smell?” she said.
“Really, Abby? Is that a nice thing to say to the person who’s making your dinner?”
“No,” she said. “I think something’s burning.”
Oh, right. The broccoli. The broccoli was burning! I opened the oven door to find a baking dish filled with a tangle of smoldering black twigs, what looked to be evidence from a forest fire investigation. But it was late, and we were hungry, so sucked it up and we went to town on that burned broccoli. I don’t know what it says about our vegetable-preparing skills in general, but something happened that night that has never happened before in all the dinners we have eaten together as a family over the last ten years: The kids went nuts over broccoli. It’s not like they are broccoli haters. They’ve always eaten it without complaint, but it’s not like they go out of their way to eat it. This was different. This was crispy and salty and way more flavorful and intense than the soggy, steamed stuff they were used to, the stuff Abby would unapologetically DIP IN KETCHUP before placing in her mouth.
I wish we could say we meant to do it. — Andy
Accidental Broccoli
1 bunch broccoli (about 4 cups), cut into small florets (the smaller the florets, the crispier the experience)
1/4 cup olive oil, maybe a little more
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, halved (optional)
Preheat oven to 450°F. In a baking dish, toss the broccoli with olive oil and salt. The goal is for every little mini broccoli bud to be glistening but not drenched, so monitor the oil drizzling process carefully. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet along with the lemon halves if using. Roast for 15 minutes, tossing if you think to, until broccoli is slightly sizzling and the tips are browned, but not black. (It can be a fine line between crispy and charred to the core.) If you roasted lemons, squeeze the halves all over the broccoli, being careful not to burn yourself. (The juice should release easily, but it will be hot.) It would also definitely not be the worst thing to toss with a drop or two of Sriracha, or the dressing from David Chang’s famous brussels sprouts recipe, but you’ll see, each broccoli stalk is like a little piece of salty popcorn. They’ll be gone before you can do any dressing up at all.
this is exactly how i prepare broccoli in the winter when i already have my oven hot….high heat, add some slivered garlic and a few shakes of red pepper flakes. we all go nuts for it, including my 7 year old boy!
We always cook it like this. It’s particularly delicious when coated in Taste of Thai’s Spicy Peanut Bake and a little olive oil.
my picky eater kids, 4 and 2, actually fight — FIGHT — over who gets the last of the broccoli. We prepare it this way as well! One night my son passed up on a cookie in favor of a few more roasted sprouts. weird.
This is our favorite way to have broccoli! I can never make enough.
We do the same with cauliflower; pop it in the oven first and add the broccoli after ten minutes. Serve with couscous and yesterday’s leftover grilled meat for a quick dinner!
I really don’t like broccoli. Never had. That was until I roasted it. It’s a totally different vegetable roasted!!!! So good.
America’s Test Kitchen has a broccoli recipe like this with a little bit of sugar to help the broccoli caramelize. OMG. It barely makes it onto our plates – my husband and I just eat it off the pan! I also may or may not have set off the smoke alarm one time, though…
This is the absolute best way to make broccoli. I’ve always loved it, but roasting it like this makes it better than I ever imagined!
Yes! Roasted Broccoli was a game-changer for me. Try it with a big sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a squirt of lemon!
I love roasted broccoli and cauliflower – so tasty!!
Love roasted broccoli!!!
My oldest hates it this way, along with the hubs but my and youngest two and me…well lets just say I don’t usually cater to what people like but I always make broccoli two ways. When we do stir fry I use sesame oil and sesame seeds with nutritional yeast. DELISH!!!
This is my absolute favorite way to eat broccoli, and I always save the smallest, burniest pieces for last. It’s also good with a little squeeze of lemon and some grated parmesan on top. But it sure does make the house smell like broccoli, and not in a good way.
Absolutely! I wish roasted broccoli was a “thing” when I was growing up. It is so delicious.
Broccoli roasted till it’s brown around the edges is my favourite way to eat it. An accidental discovery too!
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We do this with cauliflower as well. It’s the only way I can get my gang to eat broccoli or cauliflower without masses of cheese sauce. YUM.
This is how we love it too. Even the one who can only eat the “tops of the broccoli” because the stems are “too gross.” I wish this had been served to me when I was growing up.
The best broccoli I ever had was grilled at a restaurant in San Fran. Totally went bonkers over it. This one looks equally amazing. The crispier the better!
I recently discovered that if I put all of the stir fry ingredients into the roasting pan and spread it out enough and add the sauce at the beginning and at the end then I can have a perfectly crispy way more flavorful stirfry without standing at the stove. I’ve even added the rice noodles for the last minute in the oven. This crispy broccolli is a key ingredient in the usual melange. All can be prepped in the morning or night before then walk into kitchen, toss into pan, walk away and do something else, and dinner is done!
Funny – I am eating this right now as I checked on some of my blogs! And I often cook dinner the night before for the next night and just reheat for your Tuesday-type of nights. Faster and people are happier (including me post-work/sports crazy)- and really, grilled sausages reheat wonderfully!
I think brownies were an accident….
@Emilie: What a great idea! I hate standing at the stove, too.
Yup. I’ve learned broccoli really does taste better when you burn it a little bit. I am in the habit of scorching it in a cast iron skillet, then adding some garlic, kosher salt and a little water, then turning off the heat and putting a lid on to let it steam for a few minutes. My kids don’t like it (sigh) but my husband and I love it!
Oh yes, we call this one “blasted broccoli” and finish it with a drizzle of balsamic at the very end. So satisfying!
Just had a variation of this tonight– with shrimp (Melissa’s one-baking- sheet recipe, sort of—changed up the spices to use what I had). It was incredible! It’s inspiring to me to read of your family meals; what great habits you are cultivating and great memories creating!