This wonderful recipe has contrasting textures, unusual spices, bright colors, and that rare quality of the whole being more than the sum of its parts. If you have never tried roasted broccoli, you are in for a treat. It is quite different from steamed or stir fried and balanced here by the flavors of the shrimp, garbanzos and strong spices. The dish goes together in minutes, yet it’s fancy enough for a dinner party. The original recipe appeared in the New York Times, but I have made a number of additions and changes. I hope you all like it as much as I do.

Roasted Broccoli with Shrimp and Garbanzo Beans
Serves 4 generously

2 pounds broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 tsp whole coriander seeds , crushed (or ½ tsp ground)
1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 tsp sea salt (or less to taste), divided
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/8 tsp hot chili powder
1 pound large uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined*
1 14 oz can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2 medium-sized lemons
2 cups brown rice, uncooked

1. Start rice cooking. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, mix 3 tablespoons olive oil, coriander, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and chili powder. Add broccoli and garbanzos and toss.

2. Spread mixture in a single layer on a large, rimmed baking sheet and roast in the oven.

3. Meanwhile, re-using the same bowl, combine remaining 1 tablespoon oil, zest from one lemon, remaining 1/2 teaspoons of salt and pepper. Add shrimp and toss.

4. When the broccoli mixture has roasted for 10-12 minutes**, add shrimp to baking sheet and toss with broccoli. Roast, stirring once halfway through, until shrimp are just pink and opaque and broccoli is tender and golden around edges, about 10 minutes more. Squeeze lemon juice from the de-zested lemon all over shrimp and broccoli just before serving.

5. Serve over brown rice with garnishes and wedges from the second lemon.

*I highly recommend the frozen uncooked jumbo shrimp from Trader Joe’s. I can hardly tell that they are not fresh and they are very reasonably priced.

**10 minutes is probably sufficient, but if your florets are large or you like your broccoli well cooked, then you will want to cook it a few minutes longer. Do it at this point to avoid overcooking the shrimp.

I don’t recommend fiddling with this recipe too much, but here are a few ideas because I know that I am dealing with some incurable fiddlers:

Skip the garbanzos?
Use cauliflower for all or part of broccoli? Or brussels sprouts?
Add mushrooms?
Chicken?
Tofu!!
And would somebody please try it on the grill? It could be done in a grill basket or on skewers (without the beans, of course, unless you want to try skewering them with toothpicks. ) or some combination thereof.

Ingredients:

(pay no attention to those mushrooms that I changed my mind about using, please)

Broccoli-garbanzo mixture:

Going in the oven:

Shrimp added, going back into the oven:

Shrimp pink, broccoli tender, and it's ready to eat:

Plated up:

Have a seat:

And enjoy the view while you dine:

Bouquet by c2p