I thought it would be fun to host a cookbook review on It’s a Keeper (IAK).  Some of my readers and Facebook/Twitter follwers who wanted to participate don’t have blogs of their own to share their recipes on, so I offered up a guest post on IAK to give all of my readers the opportunity to share their reviews.  This one is from my good friend, Natalie.

Having been a faithful follower of “It’s a Keeper” for about a year now, when Christina mentioned a group cookbook review, it sounded like fun.  But…. my husband and I are following a Low-Carbohydrate diet, at least until Lent is over, so I had to really look for a recipe or two that we could eat and enjoy without feeling guilty.  So I paged through Ina Garten’s cookbook and found Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli – I love broccoli and I love cheese, and better still, both are relatively low in carbohydrates – perfect.
As a bonus, it was really quite easy to make.  Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:
4 – 5 lbs. broccoli
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Good olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks.  Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart.  You should have about 8 cups of florets.  Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer.  Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons of olive oil.  Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.  Roast for 20-25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.

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Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan and basil.  Serve hot.

Is it a Keeper?
The only modifications that I made were that I cut the recipe way down since there were only 2 of us eating dinner that night, and I used minced garlic rather than sliced because it’s what I had on hand.  I also mixed the minced garlic and oil with the raw broccoli in a bowl prior to putting it on the baking sheet to get them more evenly coated.

Well, was it a keeper?  Not without modification.  It was WAY too lemony for me, and I really like lemon.  The first thing I did after tasting it was check the recipe again to make it did say 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and not teaspoons.   I did use the correct amount for the recipe, but it was just way too much for me.  I will definitely try it again, but next time I will eliminate the lemon zest altogether and maybe cut the lemon juice in half, and then tweak it from there.

Natalie is from northeastern Pennsylvania, and is an amazing working mom. In addition to being a super-mom and a great cook, she also runs a successful construction business and donates countless hours to helping area non-profits. She is a regular, loyal reader and commenter here on It’s a Keeper.  Please give her some Comment Love!

Christina

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