Roasted Broccoli and Turkey Stock Quinoa

This recipe is a really easy way to jazz up broccoli.  I love roasting broccoli because it brings out its natural sweetness, while allowing the broccoli to retain a bit of a bite.  The light coating of quinoa adds a really interesting contrast in texture as well as a huge punch of protein.  Broccoli is high in fiber, and both quinoa and broccoli have a ton of great vitamins and nutrients.  You won’t be thinking about the health factor, though – this delicious absolutely addictive, and I am bummed I didn’t double the recipe.  The heat from the crushed red pepper flakes works well with the creaminess of the cheese and nuttiness of the quinoa.  We ate this as a main course, but it would be a really healthy and delicious side dish.

Roasted Broccoli and Turkey Stock Quinoa

1 crown broccoli, cut into florets

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup homemade turkey stock

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375º.

Meanwhile, toss broccoli florets with olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes, kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper.  Place on a baking sheet lined with tin-foil and roast 40 minutes until tips are charred and broccoli is tender.

Once in the oven, bring turkey stock to a boil.  Add quinoa and reduce heat to medium-low.  Stir to combine and cover.  Simmer 15 minutes until most of liquid is absorbed.  Turn off heat and let stand another 15 minutes.

Add broccoli to quinoa pan and toss to combine with lemon juice.  Top with shredded cheese.

Sardine and Mustard Roasted Broccoli and Chickpea Spaghetti

When I made lemon-garlic sardine pasta with parmesan-roasted broccoli, I realized that sardines and broccoli are an excellent combination.  Thanks to a crown of broccoli I discovered while cleaning the fridge that had seen better days, I was inspired to combine them in one dish.  It turned out great – the sardines paired nicely with the broccoli.  Their rich, umami flavor was offset nicely by the acid from the balsamic and lemon juice and the heat of the crushed red pepper flakes.  The broccoli lent a nice crunch to the dish that worked well against the soft texture of the chickpeas.  Though the flavors of the sardines are more pronounced than in the lemon-garlic sardine pasta with parmesan-roasted broccoli, this is another great way to sneakily include sardines in a dish.  The flavors were bold, delicious, and nutritious, and this dish was very easy and quick to put together.

Sardine and Mustard Roasted Broccoli and Chickpea Spaghetti

Quarter-sized fistful of whole-wheat thin spaghetti

3 cups broccoli florets, rinsed

1 4.25 oz. tin sardines in water, bones removed, if desired

3 cloves garlic, peeled

2 tbs. lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1 1/2 tbs. balsamic vinegar

2 tbs. Jack Daniels stone ground dijon mustard

4 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Serve with lemon quarter for garnish

Preheat oven to 425º.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil.

Combine sardines, garlic, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and mustard in a food processor or blender.  Pulse a few times to combine.  With machine running, slowly pour in olive oil.  Taste for seasonings.  The final consistency should be paste-like.

Toss broccoli florets with half of sardine mixture.  Place in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Roast 20-25 minutes, tossing occasionally, checking for doneness frequently in last ten minutes, until florets are crisp and the tips of the florets are lightly browned.

With about 8-10 minutes left in roasting time, add pasta to boiling water.  Cook according to package instructions until al dente, about 6 minutes.  Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat.  Add chickpeas and cook 2-3 minutes until heated through.  Add remaining sardine mixture and reserved pasta water.  Add pasta and roasted broccoli and toss to combine.  Serve immediately with lemon quarter for garnish.

Radish and Kohlrabi Top Soup and Roasted Broccoli with Garlic Butter and Pine Nuts

In the spirit of the CSA, I’ve dedicated myself to using as much of the produce as possible.  My desire to use the greens of the radish and the kohlrabi is what inspired this yummy soup.  If you don’t have kohlrabi available, it would be just as delicious (I imagine) by doubling the radish greens.  We both enjoyed the bitter edge to this soup, imparted from the radish and kohlrabi greens.  It was balanced nicely by the creaminess of the potato.  The sweetness of the Roasted Broccoli with Garlic Butter and Pine Nuts played perfectly against the Radish and Kohlrabi Top Soup.  Despite the fact that this meal was veggie-heavy, it was pretty filling thanks to the potatoes.  I really enjoyed using the radish and kohlrabi greens and am looking forward to finding some more ways to use similar ingredients in the future.

Radish Top Soup and Roasted Broccoli

Radish Top Soup:

Adapted from allrecipes.com

2 tbs. butter

1 large onion, diced

2 medium potatoes, sliced

2 cups raw radish greens

2 cups raw kohlrabi greens

4 cups homemade chicken stock

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1 batch radish chips

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and sauté until translucent, roughly 5-8 minutes.  Season with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Mix in potatoes and radish greens and stir to coat thoroughly with butter.  Pour  in the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.  The starches from the potatoes should have released, giving a “cloudy” look to the chicken stock.

Transfer to a food processor and blend until mostly smooth with some whole pieces of potato and larger pieces of radish/kohlrabi greens (as always, this may need to be done in batches).

Return to saucepan and simmer until heated through.  Taste for seasonings.

Serve garnished with radish chips.

Roasted Broccoli with Garlic Butter and Cashews:

Adapted from allrecipes.com

1 medium head fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces (stems peeled)

2 tbs. Brummel & Brown butter substitute

1 tbs. unsalted butter

1 tbs. olive oil

1/2 tbs. brown sugar

1 1/2 tbs. soy sauce

1 tsp. white wine vinegar

Freshly cracked black pepper

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/3 cup pine nuts

Preheat oven to 350º.

Heat about 1″ of water in the bottom of a large stock pot.  Add steaming basket and broccoli and steam, covered, until slightly tender but still crisp, roughly 3 minutes.  Drain broccoli and place in a small casserole dish.

While broccoli is cooking, melt Brummel & Brown and butter over medium heat in a medium sauté pan.  Add garlic and sauté 3-4 minutes until tender and golden brown.  Add brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and pepper.  Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a simmer.  Remove from heat and add to broccoli.  Toss well to coat the broccoli.

Roast, uncovered, twenty minutes or until some of the edges of the broccoli have browned.  Remove from oven and add cashews.  Mix well and serve.