It’s spring, but summer produce hasn’t quite hit the markets yet. Cabbage family vegetables abound, I search for new ways to use them. In browsing my collection of cookbooks I found this one from Diana Henry’s book ‘From the Oven to the Table‘. It’s a book I’ve had for some time but hadn’t carefully browsed. On the title page it describes the recipes in the book as “simple dishes that look after themselves”. That would certainly describe this simple but delicious dish. It’s a similar dish to my toasty creamed cabbage recipe.

Toasty Roast Cabbage Steaks with Cream and Parmesan

This one has the addition of some crisp breadcrumbs, which would also be a nice touch with the cabbage.

Roasted Broccolini with Cream and Cheese

Both dishes are easy and delicious, like a gratin but without all the fuss of making a white sauce. Make sure you have some crusty bread on hand to dip into the cream which is reduced slightly into a yummy sauce. This could serve as a vegetarian main course or a wonderful side with a roast.

Roasted Broccolini with Cream & Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs of broccolini
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup of fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 1/4 cups of heavy cream
• Generous 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese or a combination of Parmesan and sharp cheddar (or Gruyere)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
2. Trim the bottoms of the broccolini. If any of them are thick, halve them along their length
3. Put the broccolini in a roasting pan or sheet pan and toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 12 minutes.
4. Meanwhile melt the butter in a frying pan, add the breadcrumbs and turn over in the butter until they are coated, but not toasted.
5. Remove the broccolini from the oven after the 12 minutes, pour over the cream, sprinkle with the cheese and the buttered crumbs. Return to the oven and roast for a final 10-11 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.
6. Serve immediately.

Note: I had some leftover croutons in the cupboard and use those for the crumbs, simply smashing them with a rolling pin until they were the appropriate size.

Roasted Broccolini with Cream and Cheese

I imagine other vegetables would be equally delicious treated this way…quartered Brussels sprouts? I plan to use this method with fresh asparagus as well. Since asparagus cooks quickly, I would add the cream I would skip the initial roasting.

The pan cleaned up easily after an overnight soak, much to my surprise.