Two broccoli recipes in a row?
After years of just one lone broccoli recipe on the blog? Truth is, I’ve had some other ideas, but none of them felt original or special enough to share. Broccoli tends to be one of those ingredient that gets the generic treatment: you can roast it with other vegetables, you can smother it in cheese, or you can make it into a creamy soup.
All three are totally viable options, but you don’t need me for any of those.
Ever since broccoli made a reappearance in the CSA basket after a summer hiatus, I’ve decided it’s time to expand the recipe archive. I could tell you to just cook your broccoli forever a la Rob Finamore, which you should totally do, over and over again, until you get sick of it or realize you don’t have 2 1/2 hours before dinner.
In those cases, you should make this dish, which combines the flavor of broccoli with nutty browned butter, toasted quinoa and pine nuts, salty feta, a squeeze of lemon juice for acidity, and just a sprinkle of cilantro. You can serve it as a side dish to chicken, pork, or fish. You can make it the main dish for the evening—it can hold it’s own either way.
- ¾ cup red quinoa, dry
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 large head of broccoli, stalks and florets coarsley chopped
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup raw pine nuts
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ⅕ cup feta cheese, crumbled
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- Preheat oven to 450F.
- Rinse quinoa thoroughly in a fine mesh strainer for about two minutes to get rid of some of the bitterness. Drain well.
- In a medium sized saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add quinoa and toast, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute. Add 1½ cups water and a heavy pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and cook, covered, for about 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, toss broccoli with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes, until broccoli has browned a bit on the edges and is tender.
- In a small saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add pine nuts and cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until butter is browned and pine nuts are toasted. Remove from heat, let cool slightly, and stir in red pepper flakes and lemon juice.
- When quinoa is cooked, fluff slightly with a fork. Toss with broccoli, brown butter sauce and pine nuts, feta, and cilantro.
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