Korean-Style Roasted Broccoli

We have been loving roasted broccoli in our house. I used to blanch it, but honestly, blanching makes the texture of broccoli almost unbearable. I mean, it was all right, but only after it had been doused in salt and seasonings, which kind of defeats the purpose of eating vegetables, right? So, I started roasting it and it has been a hit.

And then I thought, why can't I Korean-ify it? So, I roasted it with some sesame oil and sesame seeds and it's made a delightful side dish for our Korean dinners.

Ingredients:
1 broccoli crown
1 tablespoon oil (canola, corn, light olive, vegetable)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon sesame seeds

Break the broccoli crown into bits. Rip off florets and slice the stem into thin pieces. The stems are delicious too; waste not, want not.

Pile the broccoli onto a parchment-lined sheet pan.

And mince up some garlic.

Drizzle the broccoli with regular and sesame oil and then sprinkle with the garlic, salt, and sesame seeds.

Toss the pan into a 375F oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

Let the broccoli cool on the sheet pan for 10 minutes. Cooling the broccoli a bit will help maintain the crisp texture.

Pile into a bowl and dig in. I served the broccoli alongside a Korean meal of rice and banchan. It was delicious. When broccoli is roasted, the stems become tender instead of rubbery, the crispy bits give it a lovely texture, and best of all, it has flavor.

Here's the recipe page: