Photo: Sarah Kaiser/WFIU
This dish is served with anchovies, Gorgonzola cheese, tomatoes, black olives and pine nuts.
Broccoli can often be shoved to the side of a dinner plate, especially if it’s competing with a foil-wrapped baked potato and a big hunk of meat. But in Italy, they treat broccoli more as the star of the show.
This dish is served with enough extra goodies that it can stand strong as a main course: anchovies, Gorgonzola cheese, black olives, toasted pine nuts and tomatoes. It’s also a quick dish to prepare. Since we have blanched the broccoli ahead of time, it will only take 2-3 minutes under the broiler for them to slightly caramelize.
Tuscan-Style Roasted Broccoli
Ingredients
- 1 head broccoli
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 10-12 basil leaves
- 2-3 sprigs rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
- anchovies
- Gorgonzola cheese
- black olives
- toasted pine nuts
- tomatoes
- juice of 1/2 lemon
Cooking Directions
- Cut broccoli florets into thirds and blanch them. (Cook them in salted water, al dente. Then plunge them in ice water to stop the cooking.)
- Tear the basil leaves and spread them and the rosemary on a pan. Place blanched broccoli on top. Sprinkle with olive oil.
- Cook broccoli under broiler for 2-3 minutes. Watch for caramelization on broccoli to know when it’s done.
- Arrange broccoli, basil, and rosemary on a platter. Top with anchovies, Gorgonzola cheese, black olives, toasted pine nuts and tomatoes. Finish the dish off with a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil.
