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I have discovered two great ways to eat broccoli and cauliflower: Ina Garten's (Barefoot Contessa) delicious parmesan-roasted broccoli tray bake and a yummy, smoky soup inspired by the same recipe.
The tray bake made a tasty side to the sweet mahogany salmon I cooked the other night. I followed Ina Garten's recipe but with a few variations. I roasted a combination of broccoli and cauliflower florets instead of just broccoli and cooked them at 400 F for 25 minutes instead of 425 F. I also used toasted almonds instead of pine nuts.
To make the soup, I followed the first half of Ina's recipe to roast the vegetables, but then diverged into some happy experimentation :)
Roasted broccoli and cauliflower soup
half a head of cauliflower, cut into large florets
one head of broccoli, cut into large florets
one clove of garlic, cut into slivers
olive oil, generous splash
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
one onion, finely chopped
bay leaf
fresh herb sprigs - I used oregano, thyme and sage
parmesan rind
chicken stock to cover (about 2 1/2 cups)
Place the cauliflower, broccoli and garlic slivers on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over some olive oil and toss to coat. Bake in a 400 F oven for 25 minutes.
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large high-sided saucepan. Add the chopped onion and celery and saute until softened. Add the aromatics: a few bay leaves, sprigs of fresh herbs and a parmesan rind, which will enrich the soup with a nice salty, cheesy flavour as it dissolves. Stir to coat the aromatics.
Add the roasted vegetables and garlic to the saucepan. Add enough chicken stock to just cover the vegetables in the saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Retrieve the bay leaves, thyme stems and the parmesan rind and discard them. Blend the soup in the saucepan with an immersion blender until it reaches your favourite texture. Season and serve in bowls garnished with a drizzle of olive oil.
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I like tray bakes. I just like to plop ingredients into a pan and walk away, and in an hour discover a cooked feast with very little work done on my part. This tray bake was very nice, so let me share with you what I did.
I put four chicken thighs (skin on and bone in), a few whole cloves of garlic, three tomatoes cut in half, a handful each of whole red and white new potatoes, and some onions, peeled and quartered, in a roasting pan. Then I made a dressing of balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil in my trusty glass measuring cup, and poured it all over the ingredients.
For good food, one must get one's hands dirty, so I mixed everything up with my hands and rubbed the dressing in everywhere so that all of the ingredients were coated.
Lastly, I tucked a couple of springs of fresh thyme in strategic places. You could also add dried herbs or some chili peppers or chili flakes for some extra pizzazz.
I baked this in a 400 oven for 45 minutes to an hour, although if you are cooking boneless meat it should be done much faster than that. The chicken was nicely browned and crispy skinned, but I upped that delicious ante by browning it up even more under the broiler. I hope you try this recipe sometime. Your house will smell fantastic and your tummy will love you :)
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According to Canada's Food Guide, meals are healthiest when half of the plate is fruit and vegetables, a quarter is meat or equivalent, and the remaining quarter, grain product.
A typical Asha meal is often half pasta, a quarter meat and vegetable, and the remaining quarter, cheese. Not exactly Canada's Food Guide-approved.
However, I am confident the authors would have been proud of me for cooking this recent meal: three quarters potatoes, tomatoes, onions and broccoli, and the remaining quarter a yummy roasted chicken thigh. Oh, and did I mention that broccoli was parmesan-encrusted? (I can always find ways to have my cheese and eat it too ;)
Recipes to come later this week.
