Roasted Broccolini with Parmesan-Pine Nut Breadcrumbs

roasted broccolini covered with breadcrumbs on a plate with a fork

Roasted Broccolini with Parmesan-Pine Nut Breadcrumbs

Perfectly roasted, crisp-tender broccolini with parmy, crunchy Italian breadcrumbs, also known as pangritata. A beautiful and delicious spring side dish!

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Servings:

Ingredients

▢ 2 bunches broccolini (purple sprouted broccoli or regular broccoli may be substituted, see notes)
▢ 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
▢ ⅛ teaspoon white or black pepper, or to taste

For the pangritata:

▢ ¼ cup pine nuts, finely chopped or pulsed 3-4 times in a mini food processor
▢ ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
▢ ¼ cup bread crumbs
▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
▢ 1-2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°.
Lay the broccolini out on a sheet pan in a single layer. Drizzle the olive oil all over and toss with the broccolini to coat. Season them with salt and pepper, and give them one more toss. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes (20 minutes for thicker stems).
While the broccolini is roasting, mix together all of the ingredients for the topping. When the 20 minutes is up, pull out the sheet pan (close the oven to preserve the heat) and sprinkle the broccolini with the topping. Place back in the oven for 4-5 minutes, until the bread cribs are crisp and nicely browned.
Use a spatula to transfer the broccolini to a serving platter. Scoop the remaining toasted bread crumbs from the pan and sprinkle on top of the broccoli. Finish with a few cranks from your pepper grinder.

Notes

This recipe works with broccolini, sprouted broccoli, regular broccoli, or even asparagus.
If you use regular broccoli, try to find bunches with longer stems. Trim the stem end and cut all the way down as you separate the florets to create a “trunk” on each piece. Broccoli stem is delicious! It’ll cook up crisp-tender and sweet.
If you only have shredded parmesan cheese on hand, finely chop it on your cutting board so it mixes in better with the breadcrumbs and chopped pine nuts.
Pine mouth is a condition caused by pine nuts that causes everything you eat to taste metallic for a short period of time. It is rare, but it is a concern, so I recommend looking for pine nuts that are either domestic or imported from Europe or the Middle East.

Nutrition