Roasted Broccoli Gratin with Blue Cheese

Roasting broccoli isn’t typical, but the tops brown nicely while the stems remain somewhat crisp and the flavor is wonderful. Feel free to switch out the cheese if blue isn’t your favorite; Emmental, Gruyère, goat cheese, Gouda, or any good melting cheese works fine. Other vegetables you can use: cauliflower, broccoflower, Romanesco, asparagus, or broccoli raab.

11/2 to 2 pounds broccoli, trimmed, the stems cut into pieces no more than 1/8 inch thick

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, smashed in the skins

1 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/2 cup bread crumbs, preferably fresh

• Heat the oven to 425 F. Put the broccoli in a bowl, drizzle on the olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper while tossing to coat; transfer to a gratin dish or any ovenproof dish. Nestle the garlic in the broccoli and cook until the tops are browning and the stems are crisptender, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Remove the dish from the oven and fish out the garlic. Sprinkle the top of the broccoli with the blue cheese and then the bread crumbs. Return to the oven and cook until the cheese is bubbling and the bread crumbs are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

MAKES: 4 servings

TIME: About 30 minutes