Remember that broccoli post I posted a few months ago? The Best Broccoli of Your Life? It kind of took the world–or, rather, the web–by storm. To prove it, do a Google search for “best broccoli recipe” and marvel at the #1 result. If Google says it’s the best broccoli recipe, then it has to be, doesn’t it? Just like if you Google “best food blogger,” my blog… what? WHAT? Get Google on the phone right now!
I think so many people liked that recipe because it resulted in broccoli with a texture and a flavor few of us were familiar with. Crispy, caramelized broccoli? Not that mushy, frozen stuff? Plus all that lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, and Parmesan cheese; it was kind of hard not to love that broccoli. It’s the kind of recipe that’d be difficult to improve upon; that is, until you add shrimp.
The idea of roasting broccoli with shrimp first hit my eyes on my friend Luisa’s blog, The Wednesday Chef. She got the recipe from Melissa Clark of The New York Times and Luisa raved: “What I love is how two fairly pedestrian ingredients are combined with a few smart flavorings to incredible effect.”
I was sold but not entirely sold, then my friend Molly Orangette linked to Luisa’s post and wrote: “make this dish as soon as you possibly can. We made it for dinner the week before last, and it was so perfect that I’m still thinking about it.”
Why all the raves?
Now that I’ve made the dish, I can say: you get all the crispy goodness of roasted broccoli, plus some new intriguing Middle Eastern spices (cumin seeds, coriander seeds), and then–of course–you get shrimp. Plump, juicy shrimp.
It’s a meal in itself and it’s a cinch to make. It’s so cinchy, in fact, that I can summarize the recipe pretty quickly in just a few steps.
Roasted Shrimp & Broccoli
1. Heat the oven to 425.
2. On a large cookie sheet, toss together 2 pounds of broccoli cut up into florets (but not teensy tiny florets, I like a little stem attached), 2 Tbs olive oil, 1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds (or 1/2 tsp. ground), 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds (or 1/2 tsp. ground), 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/8th tsp hot chili powder. Spread into a single layer and pop into the oven for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, toss together one pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined, with 2 Tbs olive oil, lemon zest from one lemon, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper (I just eyeball the salt and pepper) in a bowl. When the broccoli’s been in the oven 10 minutes, add the shrimp to the broccoli and toss (carefully.)
3. Roast another 10 minutes, tossing once halfway through, until the broccoli is “tender and golden around the edges.”
And that’s your dinner!
I served it in a big bowl of rice and squeezed some lemon on top. It was a big hit.
Looks brilliant.
I made this last Wednesday and it certainly is as good as everyone said – I loved it! The squeeze of lemon at the end is so awesome.
I LOVE this recipe! It’s become a staple weeknight meal for me after late law school classes. I wrote an entry on this very same topic on my brand new food blog last week- http://ladolcebacon.blogspot.com/2009/02/roasted-shrimp-and-broccoli.htmlCheers!-Dana
I made this last week and loved it. In fact, I just emailed the recipe to my mom and sister and told them to make it asap!
Oh my gosh I LOVE this recipe! I have made it at least once a week since it appeared in the Times. Unfortunately, my mom cannot stand the smell of the roasted broccoli. It hasn’t stopped me from making it though. Maybe I will make it tonight, in fact!
I made this the other night too. Between all of you food bloggers, it was hard to resist. I love roasting vegetables.
Will definitely be making this before the week’s end. I love any roasted vegetable (especially kale) but have yet to try roasting broccoli.
i just finished eating last night’s leftovers of that broccoli recipe. i leave out most of the olive oil and the parmesan so that i can fit into my jeans, but it’s still so delicious that i’ve been making it regularly since you first posted it.
I made this on Saturday from Luisa’s website … it was amazing!
This looks delicious! I’ll have to make this soon : )
This sounds so delicious that I think I know what we’re having for supper tonight. Thanks! :>Ok, this will be the test of the new server; we’ll see how fast this comment posts b/c it usually takes a looooooong time.
I loved the broccoli recipe so I am all over this. Can’t wait to make it.
Do you know calorie intake?
we’ve been roasting broccoli for years – our fave way to eat it. BUT the other day we decided to roast broccoli rabe – whoa… so good. i made is basically the same way as this (w/o the shrimp and many of the spices) – if you’re interested… http://www.weareneverfull.com/go-crispy-or-go-home-crispy-skinned-trout-with-crispy-mushrooms-crispy-veg-and-not-so-crispy-roasted-garlic-parsnip-puree/
OMG. I have never seen a recipe make the rounds so thoroughly. I love roasting broccoli- I can’t wait to try this.
Sorry but we are in the minority. First of all it was just enough for two of us. Second, the broccoli seemed to overwhelm the shrimp with its strong flavor. Wish we liked it as much as everyone else did.
Am I the ONLY person who thinks that 425 isn’t quite a hot enough oven temp for this? I cooked as per directions, hoping for amazing, but got a solid ok to good. I just didn’t achieve the “roasty” thing I was going for. Really? just 425 for 10 and 10?
I’ve been roasting “trees and rocks” (as my family calls it) with simple kosher salt since I was a kid. so I was super excited to try your recipe with two of my favorite things: Shrimp and curry-flavors. It was SOOO good, it’s sure to become a weekly staple for me.And it was SOO good it seems to have been “featured” on another site today! sans shrimp.http://www.slashfood.com/2009/02/23/spice-crusted-cauliflower-and-broccoli/
I made this about a week ago, and as much as I wanted to like it, it was just too salty. I think next time I would add red pepper flakes, and much less salt. It definitely NEEDS rice too, which I did not make. I must try this again, though, because everyone seems to be getting really good results.
Wish I could make this at home (live at home with a kosher kitchen), it looks so good and easy!
How funny…I am making this RIGHT NOW! But it is the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe, so the spices are different. Yum and welcome back! Missed you this weekend!
The lemon zest adds a fantastic sweetness to the shrimp. This dish is also delicious the next day atop a salad, by itself or mixed with couscous.
Not to make a healthy and tasty dish into an unhealthy one, but this would go great over some pasta tossed with a little olive oil and lemon… or something… if I were to guess. I dunno, I need to make it. Tonight is teriyaki chicken =/
Brilliant. And I love only dirtying one pan!
I made this for Valentine’s dinner. Too easy, too good!
I just made this tonight. I love roasted broccoli and I love roasted shrimp, so this was perfect. I did not use lemon zest, just a little fresh lemon juice on the shrimp. Everything else as written (except 2 tsp oil, max, I’m doing WW). This was very good, and very filling. I have enough left over to take for lunch tomorrow. Like the cumin/coriander combo. Will make again and again. Great for WW people, the broccoli has no points and the shrimp has 4 pts per 8 oz. Add another 2 pts for the oil and it’s a bargain. + healthy.
Super fast. Super easy Super good. When I googled shrimp and broccoli I expected Asian This is different and really good! Will make this again and again. Thanks for sharing!
@jessica- Do you have an oven thermometer? I would highly suggest one. All ovens are different and they can be very, very off if you aren’t double checking. My old oven was 50 degrees too cold. I’d pick one up at Target or Sur La Table.Or just turn your oven up :).PS – GREAT recipe, Adam. I’m eating it right now and loooving it. The broccoli is like vegetable candy.
I made this for lunch today, and I love it. I didn’t think I was going to be very impressed, but I totally was. This recipe is amazing.
Such a simple recipe! I can’t wait to try it!PS. I’m one of your new Twitter followers (@maizey12)!
I’m gutted.. I had a bunch of broccoli plants ready for this summer’s perfect broccoli meals, but they’ve been nothing but tiny, hardly enough to mix into a side dish.Someday I’ll try the perfect broccoli recipe. Someday.
Wow, a somewhat healthy meal!I’m having this tonight!
Made this tonght! I was fabulous!
Pretty delicious! I made the broccoli last night on it’s own and for the first time in my life I LOVED broccoli (I have always been a broccoli hater). Tonight I tried it with the shrimp and the only thing I will change next time is using thawed shrimp. Mine were frozen so they ended up steaming the broccoli and making it less crispy. The flavor was still great though. Thank you!
After seeing this recipe make the rounds, I just had to try it. As a broccoli lover, I have never roasted it before. Anyway, delish…yummy num-nums. I substituted a dash of cayenne and a couple dashes of Tabasco for the chili powder. Thinking of doing an Asian-flavoured version, maybe with ginger, garlic, bok choy and orange ??? We’ll see how that goes.
I would totally make that for dinner if my boyfriend wasn’t deathly allergic to shellfish. Instead, I decided to make the broccoli into a salad with fresh goat’s cheese and sundried tomatoes. It is oh, so delicious!http://kitchengraffiti.blogspot.com/2009/01/roasted-broccoli-with-garlic-lemon-and.html
I truly wanted to fall in love with this dish. But somehow it just didn’t work that way for me.Adam, thanks for giving me a great topic to write about:http://pmf1852.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/blind-date/
eat Roasted Shrimp & Broccoli with a little extra obat keputihan gatal berbau seems very tasty especially eaten when it rains.
this was a great recipe. i used frozen precooked shrimp so put the shrimp in the oven just long enough to get them hot. Had only this dish for dinner and it was plenty for my husband and myself. Quick too! I tried to use less oil for the broccoli but did spray it with pam to assure that there was some on each piece.
the broccoli was surprisingly my favorite part o.0 Thinking about increasing it to 4lb broccoli to 1lb shrimp. thanks for the recipe
I have made this twice now! It is awesome! My husband leaves it!
I think I would add sliced sweet red pepper chopped garlic, and a few red pepper flakes. After roasting I would spritz with some lemon, and serve ofer a little pasta with parmesean cheese.
That sounds absolutely FANTASTIC! I would love to hear how this turned out.
This is thawed, raw shrimp correct?
I love this recipe and make it a lot. I’ve mixed it up a few times, added tomatoes or mushrooms. Always delicious!
I’ve always loved roasted veggies but this is at the top with the shrimp, cumin and corriander. This the way to go with Brussels sprouts also’ something about roasting that brings out the flavor you never knew was there.Thanks for a great recipie.
Made this last night — SO GOOD. We made extra and finished it all in one go b/c it’s so addictive!
I’m curious, why not just use the same seasoning as “the greatest broccoli ever?” Because it was fantastic! I hate to mess with a good thing that my kids ate.
I made this tonight! FANTASTIC and easy! perfect for week 2 of my challenge!
I am eating this right now. Have to say, it is delicious. I seasoned shrimp the same as the broc. I am really liking how the shrimp come out kinda chewy and not too strongly seafoodish. I am squeamish about shrimp and they are usually too wet for me. I will always roast them from now on.
I love shrimp but I would urge people to sometimes spend less money on food and use the money for good cause