Lemony Roasted Broccoli With Pasta, Pignolas & Sweet Italian Sausage

My love affair with roasted Brussels sprouts rages on. I just love the way roasting brings out their sweetness, and enhances their nutty flavor. I've been so enjoying them that I decided to see if I could recreate the joyful experience with broccoli, their cruciferous cousin.

I looked online to see what temp to roast broccoli at and found this simple, yummy sounding recipe from Ina Garten, a.k.a., the Barefoot Contessa, for lemony roasted broccoli that I modified slightly.

The prep is very simple -- you wash and cut up the broccoli into florets and chunks -- I always include the stem as it's just as tasty and nutritious as the florets -- no need to waste it! Toss with olive oil, minced garlic, lemon zest, sea salt and freshly ground pepper and spread in a single layer on a heavy baking sheet.

Roast at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, flipping once to ensure even roasting. Et voila, you've got the most divine, sweetly caramelized, richly nutty, fragrantly garlicky, lemony treat you can imagine. It may not look like much but it will melt in your mouth.

I paired it with pasta, toasted pine nuts, a bit more lemon zest and juice, sweet Italian sausage, and sauteed red onion. You could also omit the sausage to make this vegetarian - it will be delicious without it. Then topped it all with a small avalanche of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Mmmm mmmm gooooooood. Even our two-year-old son liked it and that is saying something these days.

-- print recipe --
Lemony Roasted Broccoli With Pasta, Pine Nuts & Sweet Italian Sausage
From  Ina Garten's The Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics
Serves 4

Ingredients

* 1 box of organic pasta (whatever shape you like)
* 1 large head of broccoli, cleaned, trimmed and cut into florets and chunks of a similar size
* 3/4 pound organic sweet Italian sausage (optional)
* 1 large red onion, sliced
* 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts, you can substitute slivered almonds if need be
* Zest of two lemons (get organic if you can since you'll be using the skin) and the juice of one of them
* 3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
* Olive oil for roasting and sauteeing
* Sea salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the broccoli florets on a heavy baking sheet large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic with half the lemon zest, all of the garlic, sea salt, pepper, and 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping once to ensure even roasting, until the pieces are crisp-tender and browned at the tips.

2. Bring the water for the pasta to a boil and cook according to the directions on the box until al dente. Drain and toss with a little olive oil then set aside.

3. While you're cooking the pasta and roasting the broccoli, sautee the red onion and the sausage in a saucepan, cooking until the onion is translucent and sweet and crumbling the sausage into small pieces.

4. Remove the broccoli from the oven and toss with other half of the lemon zest and the juice from one lemon. Toss with the pasta, onions, sausage and pine nuts and top with the Parmesan cheese. Serve hot.

You might also like:

• Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic-Parmesan Buttered Breadcrumb Topping
• Roasted Curried Cauliflower with Cucumber Raita
• Roasted Broccoli & Sweet Potato Rice Bowl with Miso-Sesame Dressing

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