Orange Roasted Broccoli

This recipe is meant to be an easy, healthy side for when you don’t have time to fuss but you want something a little out of the ordinary.

Broccoli is something we all know is good and healthy but often we get tired of it just plain.  I’ve added a nice sauce here to bring it to the next level.

Basically, the broccoli is roasted with just a little olive oil, then the orange, parmesan and shallot are blended into a sauce that is tossed with the broccoli for the last five minutes.  I found that if you added the sauce at the beginning of the cooking process, the shallots and zest tended to burn since you are using a screaming hot oven.  Don’t be tempted to try and simplify of speed things up by putting the sauce on up front.  Trust me, you’ll regret it.

With that said…enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. brocoli florets (about 2 1/2 – 3 cups)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• zest of 1/2 of an orange
• 1 small shallot
• 2 Tablespoons of orange juice
• 1 Tablespoon of parmesan
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400
2. Toss broccoli with the oil and spread on a lined baking sheet.  Roast for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, blend the zest, shallot, orange juice, parm and salt till smooth.
4. Remove the broccoli from the oven and toss with the orange sauce.  Return to the oven and roast for 5 more minutes till tender and a bit crispy on the outside.

Enjoy!