Lemon Zested Broccoli with Parmesan

This broccoli is hands down the best broccoli I've ever had. Don't think I haven't noticed that I've been coming to you with really simple vegetable recipes recently. I think I owe you a dessert sometime soon. Actually, they can hardly be called recipes, because they are more food preparation techniques. But I think summer calls for simplifying. 


Take really fantastic ingredients (which are plenty in the summer) and do very little with them. Play with them just enough to make them shine. That's what I'm all about these days. 


Now, I've always been a fan of broccoli but when something is so good prepared simply, you don't really think to dress it up a lot. Thank goodness I found this recipe, and of course I owe it all to the ever-charming Ina Garten. And as much as I love my Barefoot Contessa, I am a nutrition student at the end of the day, which means I slashed the oil by a lot. 

Yum. 

This recipe is super simple but there's just something in the way all the flavors come together that is beyond. 


Lemon Zested Broccoli with Parmesan
Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa
1 head broccoli, broken into florets
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tbsp (or more) grated Parmesan
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, zest and juice*
salt and pepper to taste


Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Separate the broccoli into mini-florets and place on baking sheet (do not wash the broccoli! or if you do, make sure to really dry it. You want the broccoli super dry when it goes into the oven. It roasts better). Slice garlic cloves and add to pan. Pour oil over broccoli and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix.


Roast the broccoli for 20 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Once the broccoli has browned a bit, remove from the oven, zest the lemon with a microplane, squeeze the juice of one lemon and add the grated parmesan. Mix, taste and adjust for salt and pepper. 


I think you'll find like I did that it's just something about the combination of the lemon zest and juice and parmesan that just makes the broccoli really sing. 


Best broccoli I've had yet, hands down. 


*Remember to zest the lemon before you squeeze it for its juice. It's impossible to zest a lemon after it's been juiced, which I had to learn the hard way.