The Italian answer to a French gratin: a dish baked with a crispy cheese (as in this recipe) or breadcrumb topping.
Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
Step 1
Cook broccoli in boiling salted water until crisp-tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Drain and cool. Cut florets lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Coat large oval gratin or 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with butter. Arrange broccoli slices, overlapping snugly, in rows in dish. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Dot with 1/4 cup butter, then sprinkle with cheese. DO AHEAD:Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover and chill.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 425°F. Bake gratinata uncovered until cheese is melted and broccoli tops brown, about 20 minutes.
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Reviews (9)
Back to TopThis recipe is fine for a very basic broccoli side dish. It's not something I would make if you need that side dish to stand out.
susan1228
Washingont, DC
9/17/2020
2 stalks of broccoli is not enough for 8 servings. Roasting broccoli tossed in olive oil is a great technique, but blanching it ahead of time is a bad move. It's overcooked if it's blanched 5 minutes and baked 20 minutes. There is also too much butter in this recipe. I enjoy Michael's Chiarello's restaurant in Yountville and usually like his recipes, but this is not a winner.
shaxon
San Ramon, CA
4/18/2016
Delicious and easy, this dish didn't last long. Highly recommended.
merconnelly
Arlington, VA
8/19/2008
I made this recipe with less butter because I was feeling fat, and I think that veggies can be overwhelmed by too much fat. I agree that this is a decent weeknight side. I would suggest more than 20 minutes cooking time, though.
Anonymous
Baltimore
4/8/2008
I made it with the entire menu for a book group ("Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert) and found it to be lovely. I put in in a shallow dish, drizzled olive oil over, as well as the butter, was generous with the cheese and pepper flakes and cooked it longer so it was just a touch crisp at the edges. I did blanch the florets, but only for a short time to bring out the color, so I had no issue with mushiness. It was the first dish to disappear, and my book group is not known to be vegetarians in the least!
saccmh
California
12/24/2007
Easy to prepare, very tasty and a good way to get kids to eat broccoli. Probably not a dish to serve to company.
Anonymous
Leawood, Kansas
11/28/2007
Easy to prepare, attractive, and delicious. I used coarsely grated cheese and lots of it!
Anonymous
Mounain View, CA
11/24/2007
I have not made this recipe, but I have made many different kinds of roasted broccoli. I usually just toss the broccoli in olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and roast for 20-25 minutes at high heat. I don't think that the broccoli needs to be blanched first; that is probaly why yours came out mushy.
Anonymous
St. Louis, Mo
11/18/2007
I was looking for a vegie recipe for company but this is definitely not it. I'm glad I tried it for my husband & I first. I found the broccoli was way too overcooked (mushy). Yes, I could have cooked it less next time but, overall, it's just not very impressive. Good family weekday side but that's it.
Anonymous
Morgan Hill, CA
11/14/2007
