Deb Perlman of Smitten Kitchen is one of my favorite food blogger/cookbook authors. I especially love her vegetable recipes – it’s generally not too hard to make meat and dish taste good but knowing how to creatively cook vegetables, to me, is the sign of a talented cook. This recipe for broccoli melts takes one of my favorite ways to eat broccoli (roasted and crispy) and adds melty cheese to it…so, it’s a home run. While I felt I had the technique for roasted broccoli down, Deb took it to the next level – roasting it directly on the pan and skipping a layer like foil, wax paper, or Silpat mats make it crispier.

Oven temperatures and effectiveness really do vary from house to house – I bake these at 425 F but keep an eye on them, incase your oven is extra oven-y.  We had our broccoli melts for brunch, with a side of scrambled eggs, and coffee but I feel like these could work for any meal.

Ingredients

• 2 larger broccoli crowns (enough to heap on two large slices of toast)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Juice of ¼ lemon
• 2 slices provolone cheese
• 2 slices of buttered sourdough toast

Method

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

2. Cut up broccoli crowns into thinner slices and add olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss well to coat the broccoli.

3. Lay broccoli on a cookie sheet – as much as possible, spread it out on the sheet and don’t hesitate to use two sheets, if needed. If the broccoli is not crowded on the sheet, it will turn out crispier. Leave in the oven for 40 mins.

4. In the meantime, butter and toast your slices of bread.

5. Take the broccoli out of the oven, toss in the lemon juice, and place two heaps on the toast. Add a slice of cheese per piece of toast.

6. Put the toast in the oven and broil on high for 3-4 mins, just enough to melt and slightly brown the cheese.

7. Eat!