Caramelized Broccoli with Garlic

So I make roasted broccoli a decent amount because one of the kids really likes it and well we have broccoli when we can find it looking good here… I usually use Rachael Ray’s recipe (with s/p, garlic), but the Hubs can never make it right and it will come out wilted, a little soggy and not even browned on the bottom. So I had said I’d contemplate a better way, but I truly never tried too hard. Well, it turns out I should have looked thru some old Food and Wines from the butler’s pantry…

As it turns out the hubster found this recipe in the current issue, but it’s part of the anniversary special and thus a reprint (from Oct 2007) so theoretically I already had it sitting with my cookbooks. I think the big problem is I rarely give F&W a chance on simple things as they can make life complicated, but I do end up making a lot of the simpler recipes fairly frequently so I don’t know why I rarely use them as a source. I actually made more of a half batch because that’s all the broccoli I had in the house but here’s their full recipe…

Caramelized Broccoli with Garlic (Food and Wine, Sept 2008, p 86)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 heads of broccoli (1 1/4 pounds total), stems peeled and heads halved lengthwise
1/2 cup water
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Pinch of crushed red pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the broccoli, cut side down, cover and cook over moderate heat until richly browned on the bottom, about 8 minutes. Add the water, cover and cook until the broccoli is just tender and the water has evaporated, about 7 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil along with the garlic and the crushed red pepper and cook uncovered until the garlic is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Season the broccoli with salt and black pepper, drizzle with the lemon juice and serve.

NB: If you wonder why that’s so composed a recipe it’s because it’s c&p’d from F&W. But this was pretty good. I’ll actually probably make it less fussy, but I definitely think an on the stove version may prove useful from time to time. So I’m grateful he found this…