I went up to San Francisco over New Year’s to visit a few of my best friends. It was grand. One of the days, Nancy and I wandered down to the Ferry Building, which is one of my favorite places in SF. We grabbed a delicious lunch at Il Cane Rosso. We both had an amazing butternut squash soup. I also had an amazing caesar salad. Everything about the salad was perfect and to top it off there was roasted broccoli! I love caesar salad and I love roasted broccoli, so it was basically a match made in heaven. I was a little disappointed I hadn’t thought of the combination myself! This is my attempt to recreate that delicious dish. As I was grabbing the broccoli out of the fridge, I happened to spot some b. sprouts in there as well. It seemed rude not to use them, so I added them in as well. The flavors of the roasted vegetables go surprisingly well with the tangy dressing. I think the combination really brings out the best of both flavors.

I got the idea for this soup from Frugal Feeding. Cauliflower, broccoli and leeks are all among my favorite vegetables. I used to be fairly neutral towards cauliflower until I started roasting it. I am fairly certain roasting makes just about anything better. If the soup is looking a little more white than green, that might be due to the fact that some a lot of the broccoli disappeared somewhere after roasting and before entering the soup pot.  Roasted broccoli is probably in my top 3 favorite vegetables. It would have been rude not to sample some, and like I said, roasting makes everything better.

I was tempted to try to make this with a melted cheese crouton on top, but since gluten-free bread is so incredibly temperamental, a piece of toast with some Boursin seemed like a much safer bet. Apart from the cheese on the bread, the soup is entirely vegan.  I ended up having a lot of soup left over, so I ended up freezing the rest. I’ll report back on how it serves up after defrosting when I get around to eating it.

Let’s move on from Thanksgiving left overs…

I was slightly hesitant to mix roasted broccoli and roasted grapes, but since I have had pretty good luck with roasting them separately, I figured combining the two couldn’t be too bad. The roasted grapes gave the salad a caramelized sweetness, but it was subtle. I normally would not like anything sweet in a salad like this, but the tangy, creamy dressing kept it in check. They dressing really brought out the best in the other flavors in the salad.

I have made this recipe at least once a week for the last month. I’m kind of obsessed with it. Roasted broccoli has quickly become my favorite side dish (sorry brussels sprouts). I love coming up with new combinations for serving roasted broccoli. This is definitely one of my favorites.

Capers are totally under utilized if you ask me. I add them into just about every dish possible. They add so much flavor. In this dish they really complemented the earthy taste of the roasted broccoli. If you were in a hurry, you could also use this sauce over steamed broccoli, but I really think roasting the broccoli brings much more flavor.

I have been pretty obsessed with roasted broccoli for the last few months. I have been looking for as many different ways to prepare it as possible. This has become on of my favorites. I usually just use kalamatas with this dish, but I had a handful of green olives left, so I threw them in to use them up as well. They made a great addition. The red pepper flakes are totally optional, but I think they give a nice little edge to the dish. I also really like to throw pasta sauce over this to make a heartier side dish (Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce is my favorite). It’s also quite good with pasta sauce and polenta to make a full meal.

I’m really into slaws at the moment. There is something so summery about them. This one was just about perfect to me. It was flavorful with a bit of spice. I didn’t have any cabbage on hand, but I did have some broccoli. The slaw dressing would also make a great salad dressing for any salad. I made this for dinner one night and I found that the broccoli was still nice and crispy the next day for lunch. It was all finished off by dinner a day later, so it will keep at least a day in the fridge (if it actually lasts that long). If I had cilantro on hand when I was making this, I definitely would have thrown some in as well.

Chipotle Broccoli Slaw

• 3/4 cup greek yogurt/mayo/sour cream (or combination of the 3)
• 2 limes, juice
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo, diced (remove or leave seeds depending on how spicy you want it)
• 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from chipotle can
• 1 (large) clove garlic, minced
• 1 bag of pre-julienned broccoli slaw or 1 small bunch broccoli and 2 large carrots julienned
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 small bunch green onions, chopped (about 6-7)
• Kosher salt, to taste

1. Prepare the dressing: In a large bowl, stir together yogurt/mayo/sour cream, lime juice, vinegar, honey, chipotle, adobo sauce, garlic and salt to taste.
2. Toss in the broccoli, carrots, red onion, and green onions. Toss to coat.
3. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 3o minutes.

I am obsessed with this salad. o b s e s s e d . Everything about it is practically perfect.  I’ve made this salad 3 times now and I just love it more and more each time. The vegetables are crispy and a bit cheesy, but still stay nice and fresh. The dressing is very lemony. I don’t mind the acidity at all, but I think it could be overwhelming to some. This problem could be solved by easing off the lemon a bit and adding a bit of honey to the mix. This salad is perfect as a light meal or it would be really great with a light salmon or chicken dish.

Parmesan Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad  (from Food Network)

• 2 1/2 cups bite-sized broccoli florets
• 2 1/2 cups bite-sized cauliflower florets
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• garlic powder
• 1/2 to 1 cup olive oil
• 4 cups lightly packed fresh spinach leaves
• 1/2 lemon, zested
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the broccoli and cauliflower in a large bowl. Toss with the beaten eggs to coat evenly. Place the Parmesan and garlic powder in a large tray or baking dish and dredge the vegetables in the cheese, pressing to coat evenly.
2. Pour olive oil in a large heavy skillet until the olive oil is 1/4-inch deep, about 1/2 cup depending on the size of your skillet. Warm the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, carefully add the Parmesan-coated vegetables. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook in batches, if necessary. Let the vegetables cook until a crust forms, about 3 minutes per side. Turn the vegetables only when they easily release from the bottom of the pan. Drain on paper towels.
3. Place the spinach in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Drizzle the spinach with the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Add the Parmesan coated vegetables. Toss and serve.

I’m on a bit of soup kick lately. It’s been cold here. Like actually cold, not just cold by Southern California standards. According to my car, it’s even been in the 30s a couple mornings on my way to the gym. That’s cold. Soup is always the perfect solution to cold.

I made this soup in less than 30 minutes for lunch one day and it was great. You could definitely whip this up for a quick lunch or weeknight meal. I ended up using 2 small heads of broccoli since I needed to use them up. Even though there was only a liter of stock in the soup, I found it to be a lot more watery than I thought it would be. I probably should have added another potato to help thicken it up a bit more. I used crumbled gorgonzola and found I had to add a little more to get the flavor across. I really like blue cheese, so I don’t mind if the taste is strong, but if you are iffy on blue I would add and taste as you go. If you aren’t a fan of blue cheese, fear not! You could easily substitute the cheese of your choice (I think sharp cheddar or parmesan  would work really well).

Broccoli & Blue Cheese Soup (from BBC Good Food)
Serves 4 | Ready in less than 30 minutes

• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• olive oil
• 1 potato, peeled and cubed
•  1 liter/4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
• 1 head broccoli (about 300 grams/11 ounces), roughly chopped
• 100 grams/4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

1. Cook the onion in 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan until soft (about 5 minutes). Add the potato and stock and simmer until the potato is tender (about 10 minutes).
2. Add the broccoli and cook for 3-4 minutes until just tender but still bright green. Add half the cheese and whizz to a smooth soup in a blender. Season then serve with the rest of the cheese crumbled over.