Broccoli
by: Food52
September11,2020
4.8
8 Ratings
- Prep time 40 minutes
- Cook time 40 minutes
- Serves 6 (with extra dukkah)
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Author Notes
If there were ever a vegetable that deserved a makeover, broccoli is it. When you think of broccoli, you might imagine that bland, over-steamed green mush that your mom made you eat when you were little, and just the thought of it makes you nauseous. Amiright? So we’re going to give it a little love, because that’s really all broccoli needs—plus super-high heat—to make it truly delicious. When you roast it whole, the little trees get crisp and crunchy at the tips. Topped with cool, creamy yogurt blended with tons of fresh herbs and crunchy, spiced dukkah, it’ll be hard to believe that you ever didn’t like broccoli.
Dukkah is an Egyptian condiment is made up of toasted spices and nuts, which get ground together to create the ideal aromatic, textured finishing touch for pretty much any dish. It adds an extra-flavorful dimension to meat and vegetable dishes, and I really love it sprinkled over salads.
Reprinted from Eating Out Loud (2020) by Eden Grinshpan with permission from Clarkson Potter. —Food52
- Test Kitchen-Approved
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- Broccoli with fixings
- ROASTED BROCCOLI
- 2 broccoli heads
- 2 tablespoonsextra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoonkosher salt
- HERBED YOGURT
- 1 cupwhole-milk Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cupchopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cupchopped fresh chives
- 1 tablespoonchopped fresh tarragon
- 1/2 lemon, juice of
- 1 1/2 teaspoonskosher salt
- 1 garlic clove
- SERVING
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Dukkah (recipe below)
- 1 serrano pepper, very thinly sliced
- 1 lemon
- Flaky sea salt
- Dukkah
- 1 cupraw hazelnuts or pistachios
- 1 teaspooncumin seeds
- 1 teaspooncoriander seeds
- 3 tablespoonssesame seeds
- 1/2 teaspoonground cardamom
- 1 teaspoonkosher salt
Directions
- Broccoli with fixings
- Roast the broccoli: Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Gently lower in the broccoli and boil for 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate or sheet pan lined with paper towels and let the broccoli air-dry.
- Once the broccoli has stopped steaming, place it on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and generously sprinkle with the kosher salt. Roast until golden and lightly charred in some places, 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how hot your oven is.
- Make the herbed yogurt: In a blender, combine the yogurt, parsley, chives, tarragon, lemon juice, kosher salt, and garlic. Blend until smooth.
- To serve: Place the roasted broccoli on a serving platter and drizzle over the yogurt and some olive oil. Sprinkle with the dukkah and serrano, add a squeeze of lemon juice and pinch of sea salt, and serve warm.
- Dukkah
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast until lightly golden, about 7 minutes. Let the nuts cool just enough to handle. Wrap the nuts in a clean towel and use the towel to slough off the skins. Set aside.
- Heat a small dry skillet over medium-low heat. Add the cumin seeds and coriander seeds and toast briefly until fragrant and slightly golden, about 2 minutes. Set aside, separately from the nuts.
- In the same pan, toast the sesame seeds until fragrant and slightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
- In a blender, combine the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and cardamom and blend briefly, until they just start to break down. Add the hazelnuts and blitz a few times more, making sure not to overblend. You want a chunky texture here, not nut butter.
- Empty the mixture into a medium bowl and add the sesame seeds and salt. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 months.
Tags:
- Middle Eastern
- Canadian
- American
- Broccoli
- Hazelnut
- Herb
- Yogurt
- Vegetarian
- Dinner
See what other Food52ers are saying.
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Katy Ionis
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Eliz.
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Rodric Gagnon
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FrugalCat
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MLRadin
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13 Reviews
Cyberlill July 8, 2023
This recipe is so unique and tasty! Boiling the broccoli first results in such a different taste and texture after roasting - not so bitter and tough. The sauce was a welcome change that paired perfectly with the broccoli. Didn't have the tiny issue mentioned, but i used 5% fa*ge greek yogurt which is quite dry. Dukkah added an additional snap of flavor; cheated and used Trader Joe's because I had it on hand. Made this twice this week using left over sauce from the first prep on the second round. Vitamix blender didn't work well for the sauce because the bottom is flat and wide; ended up using the mini cuisinart. Next time I will try the Vitamix smoothie attachment.
Katy I. April 23, 2023
The dukkah is my favorite part of this recipe and I'm not mad it made a lot extra. The dressing is also yummy and made extra - the one issue is it turned out quite runny compared to the photos, maybe because I used a high speed blender and it extracted too much moisture from the parsley, so taste was great but it kind of ran off and pooled at the bottom of the broccoli. I was pretty skeptical about the boil then roast process but I stuck with it except for adding a quick dunk of the broccoli in an ice bath after the blanch to retain some color and texture. It did get some nice brown bits after the oven but they were quickly lost under the sauce so I wouldn't bother with all that next time - either stir fry or regular oil and roast would be faster and less dishes since the special part of this recipe is the dressing and dukkah.
Eliz. April 29, 2022
Responding to questions about timing: I can verify success after preparing four large stalks of broccoli according to this recipe's recommendations. First, it took three minutes for the water to return to a boil after the broccoli was added to the pot. I shocked them in ice water, too, before letting them dry out a bit. This kept the color a beautiful bright green. Second, roasting beyond-blanched broccoli takes longer to get charred bits and streaks than roasting broccoli that simply is tossed in oil and salted. Like Marcella Hazan, I think the stalks are the best part of the vegetable, so I peeled them and left them intact. Delicious when added to a bowl of coarse whole wheat bulgur and noodle pilaf and chickpeas. Fresh dill in the yogurt sauce and a really good Za'atar instead of dukkah. Paula Wolfert's Eastern Mediterranean cookbook has lots of great ideas for accompanying this dish.
JLGM August 15, 2021
The herbed yogurt sauce is a gem here and usable in a number of applications. I really did enjoy this dish; however, the standard head of broccoli from a North American grocery store won't likely yield the results photographed! They are much to large and bulbous!
Rodric G. January 9, 2021
I’ve never had a better broccoli dish. I’m no vegetarian, and I would gladly consider this a meal in and of itself. The best part is that the quantities of dukkah and sauce are easily enough for 3-4 batches, which I guarantee you will be making promptly after your first go with this incredible dish. Thank you, thank you!
laibz September 30, 2020
Amazing!
A. R. September 26, 2020
I've made this a few times this week - there is so much sauce and so much Dukkah that you almost have to make it a dozen times in two weeks! Luckily it's delish, but takes too much time for everyday, so I cut the broccoli into florets, with stalks, so one side is pretty flat, toss with olive oil and kosher salt, then just roast in a 500* oven on a pre-heated baking sheet for 5-7 minutes. so much simpler!!
FrugalCat September 14, 2020
Great side dish. Will make it again when the weather cools off. I just used ranch dressing instead of herbed yogurt, and Everything But the Bagel seasoning for the Dukkah.
Sue September 11, 2020
Am a little confused. Am I cutting the broccoli up? Boiling it whole?
mmmmrobb September 11, 2020
I admit that I have not made this dish yet, but it seems like the broccoli is cooked to death. First you boil it for 5 minutes ( I think that is too much.) and then it is roasted for 20-30 minutes. Is that really necessary?
Regine September 20, 2020
Maybe you should try it before commenting. If 5 minutes look too much, remember the brocoli is whole.
MLRadin September 22, 2020
As always, the recipe is merely a guide. To avoid mushy broccoli, I would recommend dropping the broccoli into salted water stem first, keeping the florets above water for a minute, then letting the whole head cook just until a knife gently pierced the thick stem (like parboiling fingerling potatoes). Shock the broccoli in ace water , air dry as directed.
mmmmrobb September 23, 2020
Not only do you boil it for 5 minutes, THEN you roast it for another 20-30 minutes. Looks particularly appetizing in the picture.
