Charred broccolini with muhammara

Jul 02, 2023

This is July’s To Vegetables, With Love newsletter, available to free and paid subscribers. Enjoy…

There was beautiful, voluptuous broccolini at the market last weekend, with meaty stems and robust flowers. They came home with me.

I didn’t have a plan for the broccolini so I stashed them in my vegetable crisper. But this morning, while watching Australian TV, I saw a commercial (from Coles Supermarket, for Aussie readers) advertising broccolini. At this point, I remembered the tender stems in my fridge and saw this as a sign to create a recipe with it for this week’s newsletter.

I had intended below’s muhammara dip for another purpose, for another salad, to be shared at a later date. But it was so perfect with the charred broccolini that I changed my plans.

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TENDERHEART NEWS

Tenderheart was chosen by Amazon as one of the BEST BOOKS OF 2023 SO FAR and is also an EDITOR’S PICK. If you haven’t already, pick up your copy here.

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SONGS TO COOK TO

I’ve done a lot of interviews lately and one of the innocuous questions I’ve had to think most deeply about was “Your five favorite songs on your cooking playlist”. This is almost an impossible question to answer because my musical choices in the kitchen are so mood dependent. Recently I re-listened to Abba’s The Arrival. I went on to listen to the entire album another four or five more times during a long day of cooking. Every track is a souvenir. Music, like food, has the ability to trigger memories, a tether to our roots.

Those who follow me on instagram already know I love Eighties new wave music. And George Michael ;). While on tour, many people mentioned my musical choices; it seems many of you enjoy it too. In this interview, I provided this non-exhaustive list of my top 5 favourite songs to cook to. Of course, I am now very dissatisfied with this list because there are SO many of my favourite songs not represented.

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5 FAVOURITE SONGS ON YOUR COOKING PLAYLIST? I’D LOVE TO KNOW! LEAVE YOUR LIST IN COMMENTS!

The songs I listed:
"Imitation Of Life" by R.E.M.
"Stay up Late" by Talking Heads
"Lovesong" by The Cure
"Praying for Time" by George Michael
"Bizarre Love Triangle" by New Order

THIS WEEK

Cook from your freezer! My Voraciously Plant Powered II newsletter last week was all about frozen staples which go the mile in making weeknight cooking quick and cheap. Give this 15-minute Spiced Coconut-Tomato Peas a go, or this super hearty and crowd-pleasing mixed vegetable jeon (Korean savoury pancake) made using, you guessed it, frozen mixed vegetables – peas, corn, carrots and green beans.

My plant powered II newsletter has been winning a lot of fans, even those who are not exclusively plant-based. This is a comment from a reader this week:

“Thank you, Hetty, so much for the outstanding newsletter featuring vegetarian dishes. I am not a vegetarian (yet) but may become one by the time your series comes to an end!”

If you haven’t already signed up, you can still get all the newsletters starting from week 1 by signing up here.

Eat sago pudding! Make this easy and cool dessert all summer long and top with your favourite seasonal fruit. This week, I’ve been topping mine with cherries. Here is my new recipe on NYT Cooking (gift link, no paywall!).

Watch Wong Kar-Wai’s Love Trilogy. This week, I revisited the Hong-Kong filmmaker’s melancholic and iconic movies - Days Of Being Wild, In The Mood For Love and 2046. In The Mood For Love is one of my favourite movies of all time - the cinematography, the sets, the music, and the fashion, are utterly stunning.

NEW RECIPE

Charred broccolini with muhammara

Muhammara is a Middle Eastern dip that is made with walnut and roasted red capsicums (bell peppers). It is usually spiced with Syrian Aleppo chili pepper flakes which is distinctly mild and sweet. I’ve used red pepper flakes here as this is what I most often have in my pantry, but if you have Aleppo chili, please use it. I’ve taking a shortcut with my muhammara by using store-bought roasted capsicum/bell peppers (if you can find a “fire-roasted” variety, even better, as it will add a nice smokiness to the dip though I think this is only available in the US) but if you prefer, feel free to roast or grill your own capsicum (you’ll only need to cook 1).

This is a light dish and a small serving, so double it if you are serving a crowd. If you’re celebrating the 4^th this week in America, cook the broccolini on the BBQ. Don’t be afraid to get some charring on the flowers and stem, as this will add flavour.

There are many ways to adapt this dish. If you are looking to make it heartier, you could add some legumes such as lentils or chickpeas, a grain like farro, pearl barley or quinoa, and top with some cheese such as ricotta, torn burrata or feta. Some flat bread or sourdough would be nice to mop up the vibrant dip.

Serves 2

225g (1/2 pound) broccolini, trimmed
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
¼ cup toasted sliced almonds or roughly chopped walnuts

Muhammara (makes about 1 cup)
125g (½ cup) store bought roasted capsicums/bell peppers, preferably fire roasted
60g (½ cup) cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
4 scallions, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon red chili/pepper flakes
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
3 teaspoons lemon juice (from about ½ small lemon)
60ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil

Substitutions
Walnuts: almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds
Broccolini: broccoli, cauliflower

Cut each broccolini stem in half so that they are not as long. If you have any stems that are super thick, slice the stem in half so it cooks evenly.

Heat a large skillet (frying pan) on medium high. When hot, add a drizzle of olive oil and add the broccolini. Season with sea salt and black pepper and cook for 6-7 minutes, turning every minute or so, until the broccolini stems are just tender and some of it is charred.

To make the muhammara, place the roasted capsicums/bell peppers, walnuts, scallions, garlic, cumin, sea salt, red chili/pepper flakes, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice and olive oil into a blender or food processor and puree until completely smooth.

To serve, spread the muhammara onto a large plate and top with the broccolini. Scatter over the almonds or walnuts, and serve.