Basic Family Friendly Roast Broccoli

I was having lunch out where a piece of steamed broccoli on the plate had gotten into the sauce from my chicken. An inspiring accident. I played with the idea a bit and landed here.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Bunch of broccoli (or whatever will feed your family)

Grapeseed oil as needed

Toasted sesame seeds, 1-2 tablespoons, or to taste

½ cup Ginger

½ cup Ginger Orange Teriyaki Sauce or Traditional Teriyaki Sauce (see recipes on site), or as needed

METHOD:

Pre-heat the oven to 400° F.

Cut the florets from the stem as far up the stem as you can.

Cut the florets into roughly uniform bite-sized bits, and transfer into a large bowl.

Use a paring knife to peel the stems. Starting at the base, insert the knife under the thick skin of the stem and pull up and away, using the edge to cut where the skin starts to stick tightly to the stalk. Cut the stems into bite-sized chunks around the same size as the florets.

Transfer to the bowl with the florets and drizzle with just enough oil to lightly coat the florets all over. Place the broccoli onto a sheet pan covered in foil and place in the center of the hot oven.

Cook for around 20 minutes. The stems should be just tender and the florets as well. There should be just a little crisping on the edges at this point. Taste a floret to see if it cooked through. Once it is cooked through, it is time for the teriyaki sauce. You can either just drizzle some over the broccoli, or tip the broccoli into the bowl you oiled it in and drizzle with teriyaki and then toss to evenly coat broccoli with sauce. After the broccoli is sauced, return to the oven and turn up heat to 450°F. Cook for 5-10 minutes more so the teriyaki gets hot and bubbles a little.

Remove from sheet pan and place on a serving plate or bowl, and sprinkle liberally with toasted sesame seeds. Serve while hot.

Serves: 4

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen

Chef’s Notes and Tips:

NOW-the important bit about this recipe. If it burns on you, turn down the heat until you are familiar with the recipe enough that you can turn the heat back up or get a really loud timer. I cook this at 400° degrees and it gets done pretty quickly. ALSO-if you vary the size of the pieces, making them larger or smaller, the results can be a little different. Smaller bits will get crispier, bigger bits are more tender and will cook more slowly. Oven temperatures vary and you may need to experiment a little. Usually, if something goes wrong, it overcooks and tastes swampy or singes to death.