roasted broccoli with bleu cheese

I positively adore broccoli in almost any incarnation, and more often than not we fall back to simply steaming it. It is so easy and quick and I can eat it like candy.  But after one too many boring steamings in a row, the noble broccoli deserves to be treated to a more special preparation. For me, lately, this has been it.

This recipe hardly needs any explanation. Roasting broccoli gives it a depth of flavor that is worthy of consumption all on its own, but the addition of bleu cheese, bread crumbs and lemon put this over the top. It was crunchy and nutty and roasty, but with a nice tang from the bleu cheese and lemon, and it is definitely on my list of new favorite accompaniments to a great dinner.

Roasted Broccoli with Bleu Cheese, Lemon and Bread Crumbs

Adapted from seriouseats.com

Serves 2 generously

1 large head of broccoli, broken into florets

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1/3 cup bleu cheese crumbles (a little more or less will be ok, depending on what you have)

zest of 1/2 lemon

Salt and pepper

2 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients (broccoli florets, bleu cheese, panko, olive oil salt, pepper, and lemon zest) and toss to combine. Spread mixture on a roasting pan in an even layer, but keep it sort of compact so that any melty cheesyness will fall onto more broccoli instead of just falling onto the baking sheet.

Bake for about 25 minutes, stirring around half way through. Remove from the oven and eat right away– don’t wait until it’s cold!

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