Roasted Sesame Broccoli

Some may call me mildly crazy. Others call me nuts. And still a select few say I am downright out of my mind. The topic in reference is heat. Today is one of the hotter days for Seattle, and still I seek more heat. The vegetables in the refrigerator collaborated in my mind as I walked home from the gym tonight, mixing and matching to create a light dinner. I usually eat a light dinner on Monday nights, because I tend to indulge in richer foods on the weekends.

Let me give you a slight introduction to my heat-seeking tendencies. My yoga of choice is hot vinyasa, where in fact, I am the lunatic consistently laying my mat down closest to the heater. I am the person always ordering my water without ice at restaurants, and actually drink from the hot water spigot at work, which has raised a few eye brows. I lay in the sauna until hot as a pancake, needing to be peeled from the griddle. So it only seemed fitting to fire up the oven tonight for some crispy roasted vegetables topped with a fried egg.

You may be sitting here, or even pacing around your living room, wondering why in the world I live in a mostly chilly city? I do ask myself this same question from time to time. Although I have threatened myself to move to Sonoma or Atlanta, I am still drawn back like a snapped rubber band. I have lovely friends, the best job in the world, a perfectly located and redecorated apartment, and tons of food possibilities...in addition to the ability to walk almost everywhere.

So dear readers, if you are averse to roasting vegetables in the middle of July, I do understand. Not everyone wishes for unnecessary heat in the kitchen. But please give the recipe a try the next time there is a chill in the air, and your life needs a warm-up.

Roasted Sesame Broccoli
Yields 2 servings


Roasted broccoli is always a nice appetizer or side dish. Or round it out with a fried egg to make it a meal. It is almost a hands-free experience, with the oven doing most of the work.

8 cups fresh broccoli florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
Salt
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, or more to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.

Mix broccoli, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper together in a medium bowl. Using your hands is the most effective way to evenly distribute the oil. Pour broccoli onto baking sheet; roast in the oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; saute onion until a nice caramel color is reached, about 20 to 25 minutes. Season with salt.

Remove broccoli from oven; give it a good stir. Return to oven and roast for another 10 minutes. Add caramelized onions to broccoli. Turn on broiler; broil until broccoli begins to char, 1 to 3 minutes depending on oven.

Stir sesame seeds into broccoli and onions.