Recipe: Garlic Roasted Broccoli with Pine Nuts (2024)

FAQs

How do you stop broccoli from burning when roasting? ›

The tender, fuzzy “tree” tips of roasted broccoli florets are the most delicious, but they are also quick to burn. Make sure the florets are well-coated with olive oil to keep this from happening. Don't Crowd the Pan. If the florets are too close, they will steam instead of roast.

If you're in a rush, or if you want to ensure that you have super tender stalks by the end of cooking, try steaming the broccoli before roasting it.

Wash AND dry your veggies.

After you wash your head of broccoli, make sure to dry it off before you toss it with the oil. A little moisture is ok, but if it's too wet when it goes in the oven, it won't get brown and crisp.

Steam It: Steaming is one of the best methods to cook frozen broccoli while preserving its texture. Use a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water. Cover and steam for 3-5 minutes or until the broccoli is tender but still has a slight crunch.

For the garlic, use smashed whole cloves instead of minced so it won't burn. Finally, roast in a moderate rather than hot oven so the vegetables have time to sweeten and caramelise evenly!

Some broccoli varieties are more bitter than others and bolt quicker, choose heat tolerant varieties or quick maturing varieties. Even if the head is small, pick your broccoli when the florets are tight, close together and bright green.

How do restaurants make broccoli taste so good? As with everything made by chefs, they have unexpected (read: unhealthy) additions to their meals — mostly butter, oil and heaps of salt. An excellent tip for the perfect broccoli is the blanching step.

In this regards, it is likely that broccoli cooked by steaming will be better fit for human consumption than other cooking methods. In conclusion, the current study clearly shows that nutrient and health-promoting compounds in broccoli are significantly affected by domestic cooking.

That winning combination of slightly-charred, crispy buds in the same bite as those tender, caramelized little stems is quite simply broccoli at its best. I love serving roasted broccoli on its own as a simple side dish, or adding it to everything from pastas to quiches, tacos, pizzas, pastas, soups, salads, and more.

Roasted broccoli is a healthy side dish with major crowd appeal. Broccoli contains a lot of good-for-you fiber, vitamin C, and a surprising amount of protein, too. Who knew? If you've been in a rut with side dishes lately, or you're tired of steamed broccoli, you're going to love this simple side.

How do you make roasted broccoli not smell? ›

Preheating the baking sheet ensures the broccoli is hit with high heat right from the start, from all sides. Setting the oven to such a high heat browns the broccoli and cooks it through quickly, allowing nutty and sweet flavors to develop, not stinky, sulfurous ones.

Nope, not those commercial produce washes; the USDA actually advises against using those. Instead, use a pantry staple: vinegar. Fill a large bowl with 2 ⅔ cups cold or warm water and ⅓ cup white vinegar. Allow it to soak for 2 minutes, then dump the broccoli into a colander.

The Chinese broccoli needs to cook as fast as possible, so that the nutrients and color don't have as much opportunity to leach out into the water. It's best to start with as much boiling water as you can. Restaurants serve amazingly green and crunchy Chinese broccoli because they use huge amounts of boiling water.

The Oven Temp Is Too Low

But, they'll turn out soft and soggy instead of crispy and caramelized. The solution: Turn the oven temperature up to 400°F to 425°F. The high heat will quickly coax out all those naturally sweet flavors while keeping the vegetable tender-crisp.

In a white vinegar solution: If you know your broccoli heads have aphids or cabbage worms, you can kill them with a solution that is ten percent white vinegar and ninety percent water.

Swich tip: the smaller the vegetable pieces, the higher the oven temperature needs to be. This may sound counter-intuitive. But here's why: smaller vegetables take less time to cook throughout. On the other hand, harder and bigger vegetables are better cooked at 350-400 to prevent the vegetables from burning.

However, if cooked for too long, the water can evaporate and the broccoli can become dry enough to catch fire. Leaving the stem on - The thick stem of broccoli has less moisture than the florets. If left on while microwaving, the stem can heat up more quickly and reach a temperature where combustion occurs.

Maybe your oven heat is too high and your vegetables are burning before they are fully cooked through. In this case, reduce the temperature of your oven by 25-50 degrees and see if that helps. It's also possible that you may need a bit more oil on your veggies.