New favoritest dinner

Five years ago, if you asked me what my favorite vegetable was, I would answer broccoli without hesitation. I started eating it dipped in A1 steak sauce around the age of 6. Since then, I progressed to steaming, covering in cheese, throwing in a stir fry and eventually... roasting. The perfect method for cooking broccoli.

That's why when I saw this recipe, even though I'm not usually super excited about shrimp recipes, I thought this one would be worth a shot.

Ooh, so happy I did.

Only 20 minutes of cook time with almost no prep and only one dirty pan unless you make a little curry rice on the side like we did.

Still so worth it and this has jumped to the top of my list of favorite weeknight dinners. Make it now, thank me later.


Melissa Clark's Roasted Broccoli With Shrimp

2 pounds broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
4 tablespoons ( 1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds (or 1/2 tsp ground, though the seeds add great texture)
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds (or 1/2 tsp ground)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (I'd cut this to 1 tsp next time)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon hot chili powder
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined (we used Jumbo since that's what Trader Joe's had, and it worked just fine)
1 1/4 teaspoons lemon zest (from 1 large lemon)
Lemon wedges, for serving.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss broccoli with 2 tablespoons oil, coriander, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and chili powder. In a separate bowl, combine shrimp, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, lemon zest, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

2. Spread broccoli in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 10 minutes. Add shrimp to baking sheet and toss with broccoli. Roast, tossing once halfway through, until shrimp are just opaque and broccoli is tender and golden around edges, about 7-10 minutes more. Serve with lemon wedges, or squeeze lemon juice all over shrimp and broccoli just before serving.

Yield: 4 servings. But really 2 because I couldn't stop picking at the broccoli and Andy couldn't lay off the shrimp.