Recipe: Garlicky Crumb-Coated Broccolini

A super quick side dish recipe that is short on ingredients and long on flavor. Garlicky Crumb-Coated Broccolini…

I feel like broccolini is one of those sad, oft-overlooked vegetables. Often times, at the grocery store, it tends to get mixed in with the long leafy herbs like parsley and dill, and occasionally bok choy, and people just don’t seem to know what to do with it. And that’s when intimidation sets in and you just ignore it and pretend it doesn’t exist.

It’s time to right some wrongs. Broccolini is very similar to broccoli, but with longer and thinner stalks and smaller florets. It is not bitter like broccoli rabe. Instead, it has a subtle sweet bite and most similar in taste to broccoli and asparagus. It is grown year ’round in California and Arizona, and, honestly, it could not be simpler to cook.

When in doubt, ROAST.

No matter what the vegetable is, you can’t go wrong with roasting, and broccolini is no exception. And since roasting is such a simple preparation, it frees you up to enjoy other things … like gorgeous summer weather and freedom from being chained to your stove.

This version gets roasted with a buttery garlic sauce and then gets topped with Parmesan cheese and a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Just a handful of ingredients, but each one bringing an impactful punch, making this dish pretty much perfect alongside grilled chicken, which is how I served it the other night.

So good, I could have eaten the whole platter myself.

But then that’s pretty much how I feel about most vegetables. I was talking with a friend last week, and inhaling a roasted vegetable wrap, and he asked me if I was vegetarian.

“No, I like red meat too much.”

And it’s true. But every now and then, when I see one of those eye-opening movies about meat, or the chicken squeaks just right when I put it in the pan, I think I could totally become vegetarian.

Especially if I was eating this.

Hungry for more excellent vegetable recipes?
This Roasted Vegetable Spread from Alton Brown is an awesome schmear on top of bagels.
One of my favorite uses of avocados, and a great clean eating sandwich.

Garlicky Crumb-Coated Broccolini
Recipe courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens, November 2013

Ingredients
2 pounds broccolini or broccoli, trimmed
1 cup soft bread crumbs (I used whole wheat)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh garlic
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup chopped pitted green olives
1/3 cup finely chopped yellow sweet pepper (I skipped)
1 tablespoon finely shredded lemon peel
Lemon wedges (optional)

Directions
1 – Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Arrange Broccolini in a shallow roasting pan. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
2 – In a small saucepan combine olive oil, butter and garlic; heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Drizzle evenly over mixture in pan. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
3 – Roast, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until broccolini is just tender. Transfer to a serving platter or dish. Combine olives, sweet pepper and lemon peel; sprinkle over broccolini. Pass lemon wedges.

Nutrition Facts
Per serving:
198 kcal cal., 15 g fat, 20 mg chol., 281 mg sodium, 12 g carb., 4 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 6 g pro.