Roasted Broccoli
The bonus part of this roasted broccoli is the creamy tahini under-dressing along with the scallion-peanut sprinkle. Inspired by a sheet pan recipe in Alison Roman’s Dining In, this broccoli is on repeat.
This roasted broccoli dinner is all about easy adaptability. Broccoli, tossed in a bit of spiced olive oil is roasted in a blistering hot oven. A creamy, tahini under-dressing is smeared generously across your serving platter. Everything is finished with magic mix of basil, peanuts, dried fruit, and scallions. Mark my words, people can’t get enough of it.
Why This Roasted Broccoli is So Good
One of the magic elements of this recipe is the pop of sweetness you get from using a bit of roasted dried fruit. So resist skipping out on the fruit. Seriously. I like using golden raisins because they plump up, ooze a bit of sugary juice, and then caramelize where the juice hits the baking sheet. But if sourcing them is a challenge, just go for chopped dried apricots, or chopped dates. It all comes off one sheet pan, plated on a single, family-style platter.
Inspiration:
Alison Roman has a brilliant version in her Dining In cookbook using cauliflower florets and dates. That was my starting point months ago, and this is where we ended up. A greened up third cousin of sorts.
More Variations
Caramelized and deeply-roasted broccoli is my favorite vegetable angle here, but don't limit yourself. Other Ideas:
- Cauliflower: As mentioned above, Alison’s version uses cauliflower.
- Brussels Sprouts: Feathery leaves of Brussels sprouts make another great alternate, I like to shred them.
- Mixed Vegetables: Can’t decide? Do a mix of vegetables (the blend in the photo is mostly broccolini with a few handfuls of shredded brussels sprouts).
- No tahini? Almond butter or sunflower seed butter work nicely as well. A completely different direction is to mix a bit of salt into yogurt, spice it up a bit.
Roasted Broccoli Dinner
You can see (above) I serve the broccoli platter alongside simple soba noodles tossed with a splash of olive oil, seasoned with a pinch of salt, and sprinkled with a mix of seeds. I boil the soba noodles while the vegetables are roasting, and it makes for a nice meal.
More Broccoli Recipes
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Braised Broccoli with Orange and Parmesan
- Double Broccoli Quinoa
- Broccoli Soup with Coconut Milk
- Broccoli Apple Salad
- all broccoli recipes
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Roasted Broccoli
As I note in the opening paragraph, the potential for adaptation here is nearly endless. Make it this way once, and then play around with the curry/spice blend, the types of vegetables you roast. The nut or seed butter you use is also up for experimentation, as well as the herbs!
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon, (Meyer lemon if you have one)
- 1 large head of broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup toasted peanuts
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup coarsely chopped basil
- 1/4 cup tahini, almond butter, or peanut butter
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Preheat the oven to 450°F.
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Combine the spice blend with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large bowl. Add the zest of the lemon and the broccoli, and toss well. Season with salt and pepper, arrange the florets on a baking sheet in a single layer, and roast for 7-10 minutes, or until the broccoli starts to take on a bit of color. Add the raisins, toss with a spatula, and continue roasting until the broccoli is deeply golden and the fruit has plumped, another 5-10 minutes or so.
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In a small bowl combine the peanuts, scallions, basil, 1 tablespoon of juice from the lemon, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
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Lastly, in a small bowl whisk 4-5 tablespoons of warm water into the tahini. Season with plenty of salt and pepper, and spoon directly onto whatever serving platter you plan on using. Transfer the roasted broccoli mixture to the serving platter, on top of the tahini. Spoon the basil mixture over the broccoli and enjoy.
Serves 4.
Third cousin to the Cumin-Roasted Cauliflower and Dates with Tahini and Pine Nuts in Alison Roman's Dining In.
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Comments
My daughter made this and it was delicious! So many textures and flavors! A winner for sure.
Delicious! My only substitution was chive flowers for scallions. Thanks Heidi
Heidi, this is sooooo tasty. Makes our plant based diet all the better. I used dates and almonds since that is what I had on hand. Thank you for your delicious recipes and all the work you put into your site.
I made this, skipped the peanut sauce and mixed in some leftover rice for a great roasted veggie salad!
YUM! I made a modified version (broccoli/leeks/brussels sprouts) with walnuts instead of peanuts. I did not have any basil, so I’m sure it would have been even more delicious with it. I loved the sweetness that the dried fruit added. I had to put away my leftovers right away b/c I wanted to just go back and eat the whole bowl! Also super quick and easy! Thanks for all the vegan recipes!!
So delicious, so flexible! I made this tonight to clear out my fridge before a road trip, so lots of substitutions: I added leeks sliced lengthwise to the roasting pan with the broccoli, and lightly steamed some bok choy. No peanuts or raisins, so I used pistachios and dates; no scallions or basil so I used some chives and turmeric and black pepper in the tahini dressing, along with soy sauce and toasted sesame oil. Served over brown rice, it was divine.
Wow this looks good! I tend to have trouble finding decent basil this time of year, though–would cilantro or parsley make a good sub?
Yes, absolutely!
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