Food: Roasted Broccoli and Shrimp

The following recipe by Melissa Clark actually ran in the New York Times in January but I only discovered it recently via The Wednesday Chef. In looking at photos of the dish, I thought it looked a little plain. As a result, I was concerned it would be lacking flavor and made a raisin vinagrette for the shrimp. But I should have trusted the rave reviews. It didn't need anything extra, except for a little bit of rice on the side.


Even though this meal is so simple and fast, both the process and the end results are extremely gratifying. For example, just grating citrus involves all of your senses...hearing the rasping noise the fruit makes and feeling the vibration in your fingertips when pushing the lemon across the grater while smelling the fresh, bright scent of lemon filling the air and watching little bits of bright yellow light up some olive oil. The other gratifying bit about making this dish is watching the shrimp turn from boring, transparent gray into hot and enticing coral. And you can't believe how plain and simple broccoli is transformed into something warm, juicy and intensely flavorful thanks to some exotic spices. This is definitely a dish you will make over and over again. May I mention again how quick and easy it is to pull together?

Roasted Broccoli with Shrimp

Adapted from The Wednesday Chef

Ingredients

• 2 heads of broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon chili powder
• 1-1.5 lbs large shrimp, shelled and deveined
• Finely grated zest from 1 lemon

Directions

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

Food: Simple Stir-Fry (and not-so-easy rice)

On Friday I decided to make a recipe out of this month's Bon Appetit (May 2009): Stir-fried Beef, Broccoli and Yams. It turned out to be a very easy dish (minus our slight disaster with the short-grain brown rice) and was a nice combination of sweet, crunchy and spicy. Some slight modifications I made to the recipe included throwing in some water chestnuts and doubling the amount of red pepper (since we like things a little more spicy). I think the stir-fry would have also been good with peanuts instead of the water chestnuts, so I'll have to try that next time. The sweet potatoes in the sauce reminded us both of candied yams...so they definitely needed the beef, broccoli and heat to balance out the sweetness.

Stir-Fried Beef, Broccoli, and Yams

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper (or a little more if you want some heat)
• 1 1-pound flank steak, cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil, divided
• 4 cups broccoli florets (about 8 ounces)
• 1 8-ounce yam (red-skinned sweet potato), peeled, cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices (I used a regular sweet potato and it turned out fine)
• 2 teaspoons chopped peeled fresh ginger

PREPARATION

• Stir first 4 ingredients in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Set sauce aside. Place beef in large bowl; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add cornstarch and toss to coat.
• Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in large wok over high heat. beef mixture; stir-fry until no longer pink outside, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer beef mixture to medium bowl. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet. Add broccoli, yam, and ginger. Toss to coat; sprinkle with salt and pepper. sauce.
• Cover, reduce heat to medium-high, and cook until vegetables are just tender, about 5
  minutes. Add beef mixture. Toss until sauce coats beef, about 1 minute. Serve.