Broccoli is a journeyman’s vegetable. Consistent and reliable, it does exactly what you ask of it, every time, without the need for much fanfare or an overly expensive cooking method. The stalks can be cooked in a myriad of ways, most of which are quite good, but roasting has the best effort-to-reward ratio, especially when roasted slowly.
Why are restaurant-grown vegetables so much tastier than homemade ones?
Until recently, I was a fan of high-heat roasting, as a woman who loves the crispy bits and craves all the flavors that the Maillard reaction produces. However, when roasting at 400℉ or higher, the fluffy ends sometimes start to burn before the stem is tender. I recently found a solution to this problem when I read this extensive brocc doc (short for “broccoli doc”) from Food52, which extols the virtues of roasting broccoli more slowly and sensually. The author of the brocc doc promises that slow roasting produces tender stems with “concentrated flavor and lots of crispy bits, almost like French fries.”
Excited about the idea of French-roasted broccoli, I cut a head of broccoli into florets, tossed it with enough olive oil to cover (about 3 tablespoons), and salted it generously (a little over 1/4 teaspoon). I roasted it at 325℉ on a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet for about 45 minutes. Then I ate half of it right off the rack while I was in the kitchen, because it was reigning. (Note: I used the convection setting on my oven, which speeds up the process a bit. In conventional ovens, it can take up to an hour for your slow-roasted broccoli to reach the desired temperature, but it’s worth the wait.)
Comparing them to French fries might be a bit of an exaggeration, but Food52 wasn’t kidding about the concentrated flavor, nor the crispy texture. The slow-roasted results were deeply savory, with plenty of browning at both ends and perfectly tender, crispy stems.
