Although holiday gatherings may look different these days, many of us will still have a smaller, traditional holiday dinner. As you know, holiday dinners always include side dishes. An easy and flavorful side dish to prepare is roasted broccoli. You can also roast a different hearty vegetable like cauliflower, carrots, brussel sprouts or beets. Roasting vegetables provides a great blending of flavors that you don’t get with other cooking methods. Fresh vegetables are the best to use. Just remember to clean and dry off your vegetables before preparing them. Roasting is also a good way to use up those vegetables that are nearing the end of their shelf life. This is a very simple, healthy and delicious side dish that you can prepare for any meal for your consumers. Here’s to simple, healthy eating! 

-Chef Steve Norton

Person cutting broccoli with knife.
Start by cutting your broccoli into florets.The florets are the parts of the broccoli that look like little trees branching off from the thick. green stem.
Broccoli florets arranged on a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Lay out florets onto a baking tray covered in parchment paper or foil.
Broccoli florets on a baking sheet in the oven
Cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds broccoli, cut into florets (small, bite sized pieces)

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tbsp olive oil

Juice from ½ a lemon (about 1 tbsp)

Salt & black pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400. In a large bowl, combine broccoli florets and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and fresh lemon juice. Toss until florets are well coated. Arrange the broccoli in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Roast 15-20 minutes, until cooked and slightly browned. Remove from the oven and serve warm with a main dish of chicken breasts, fish or anything you like.