You know you've done something right with broccoli when the person you made it for describes it to someone else the next day as "better than biting into a steak."

Those were Craig's words and they were a marked change from the first words he uttered about the broccoli, before he bit in: "You made broccoli for dinner? Broccoli and sweet potatoes?"

Then he did bite in and his eyes lit up. "Oh my God," he said. "This is the best broccoli I've ever had in my life." Later he said: "If parents made this broccoli for their kids, kids wouldn't hate broccoli. They'd beg for it."


So what did I do to the broccoli to make it taste so good?

I can't take any credit. The credit goes to that formidable force in my foodie life; namely, the Barefoot Contessa.

You preheat the oven to 425. (220 C)

Take 4 to 5 pounds (about 2kgs) of broccoli (I just got two large bunches - in Oz this would be about 4 or 5 bunches more likely), cut into florets (but relatively big ones.) Here's the key that she doesn't mention in the recipe: dry them THOROUGHLY. That is, if you wash them. I saw an episode of Julia Child cooking with Jacques Pepin once when Pepin revealed he doesn't wash a chicken before putting it in a hot oven: "The heat kills all the germs," he said in his French accent. "If bacteria could survive that oven, it deserves to kill me." By that logic, then, I didn't wash my broccoli; I wanted it to get crispy and brown. If you're nervous, though, just wash and dry it obsessively.

Now, it's easy. Put the broccoli on a cookie sheet (I used a bowl). Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. (She says 5 Tbs olive oil, 1 1/2 tsps salt, 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, but I just eyeballed it.) Now add 4 garlic cloves that are peeled and sliced and toss them in too.



Roast in the oven 20 to 25 minutes, until "crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned."

I shook the pan around a bit as it went, but not sure that's necessary.

When it's done, take it out of the oven--and here's where it gets really good--zest a lemon over the broccoli, squeeze the lemon juice over the broccoli, add 1.5 Tbs more olive oil, 3 Tbs toasted pine nuts (I left those out), and 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. She also has you add 2 Tbs julienned fresh basil, but I left that out too.



You won't miss it: the magic combo of the crispy broccoli, the garlic, the lemon and the cheese will make this the best broccoli of your life. I guarantee it; you will go ga-ga over it. I'm so ga-ga over it that I would seriously consider a trip right now to the store just so I could make this for lunch. Broccoli for lunch? After trying this, you'll never want to eat anything else for breakfast, lunch or dinner ever again.