OK, "Sexy, Spicy Broccoli" was really one of the rejected names for Melissa Clark's ceviche-like broccoli salad in the Times a couple weeks back, but we have to beg her to give it another chance. This broccoli is indeed spicy, and if a broccoli salad could ever be called sexy, we think this is the one.
Recipe Review: Sexy, Spicy Broccoli from The New York Times
From the very moment we opened up the Times we knew we had to try it. It's a very easy recipe: just toss broccoli with a little vinegar and salt. Then fry garlic and cumin in a quantity of hot oil, add some pepper flakes and sesame oil, and toss with the broccoli. Let it sit for a few hours; the acid and oil partially "cook" the broccoli while still leaving it deliciously crunchy. Like the recipe title suggests, the salad does taste as if it's been "cured" in the oil and salt.
We like broccoli but it gets so boring - steamed broccoli is such a basic, go-to weeknight vegetable that it gives us the blahs. This recipe woke us up! We love cumin in anything, especially when it's fried in oil like this.
Now, having said all this, we're going to be like those dreadful commenters on recipe sites who swap out every ingredient except the salt and say, I followed the recipe exactly! Except for these few things...
When we went to make a double batch of this (we were in a time crunch too) we found that we were, inexplicably and inexcusably, out of olive oil! This recipe calls for 3/4 cup and were doubling it. What to do? After a few moments of agonized indecision, we swapped canola oil for half of the oil called for, and made up the difference with a bit of roasted walnut oil. We probably ended up using only 2/3 of the oil called for, but it was still delicious.
Also! We are out of white cumin, which is presumably what is called for here. We had black cumin though, which has a slightly different taste - less nutty and more delicate. We also squeezed two lemons over at the end for a little more acid and tartness.
It was still good - so, so good. Try this - even with half substitutions the recipe works so well! Sexy broccoli indeed.
• See Melissa Clark's original article: Raw Broccoli by Another Name, and the recipe: Garlicky Sesame-Cured Broccoli Salad
Tags
Recipe Review, Melissa Clark, NY Times, broccoli, healthy, vegetarianRelated Links
- Healthy Comfort Food: Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini
- Recipe Review: French Country Boule from Local Breads
- Cooking Korean: Soondubu jjigae
- Recipe Review: Patricia Wells' Honey Ice Cream
- Recipe Recommendation: Pommes Anna
Share
Comments (10)
The Kitchn Weekly Email
Top Posts
Top Recipes
Top Kitchen Tours
Links
- A Chicken In Every Granny Cart
- iron stef
- greengelato
- Habeas Brulee
- Pip in the city
- Birdseye Chili
- Erin Cooks
- Gourmet Project
- Last Night’s Dinner
- The Kitchen Designer - Journal
- Cookbook Catchall
- Eating the Garden
- Sara Hohn - Food… Brooklyn & Beyond
- iron stef
- Food Noob
- ...my burning kitchen...
- Janet Is Hungry
- Project Me!
- erin's kitchen
- Kitchen Adventures - Vox
- My Vegetable Blog
- Home Sweet Homewrecker
- Urban Girl's Almanac
- Cooked Books
- Superspark
- cucina nicolina
- Brownie Points
- Confabulation in the Kitchen
- My Husband Hates Veggies
- American Madness
- nylon diner
- how to eat like a bird
- 64 sq ft kitchen
- A Question of Taste
- NY Times Dining & Wine
- Epicurious
- Slow Food USA
- The Cook's Thesaurus
- The Groovy Mind
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
must try this; i totally missed it last week.
view Kyla (Pieds Des Anges)'s profile
I made this two days ago also. I was being lazy though, so I didn't cook anything. I used 1/3 of the olive oil, and twice the garlic. Leaving it raw it seemed really spicy, but in a good way.
My boyfriend and I loved it! He was a little confused though. The sesame oil sort of threw him for a loop, and he thought I had used lemons instead of red wine vinegar.
I like recipes where you can't immediately tell what the ingredients are. I'll be making this again soon (just as soon as we get more broccoli in our CSA.)
view SarahLynn's profile
This looks absolutely delicious - I don't know how I missed it either!
view jazspin's profile
i made this a few days ago too!! it's excellent! (go easy on the salt, tho)
view lindsey kathlene's profile
this is a variation on a classic chinese dish using cucumbers. let the cucumbers sit in salt and sugar and rice vinegar for a few minutes, then add dried chili flakes that you've fried in oil. yummy! it's salty, sour, sweet, and crunchy.
view Joan in SB's profile
Joan - that cucumber dish is one of my childhood favorites! I always ask my (Chinese) mom to make it for me when I'm visiting at home. Sometimes we throw in some shredded chicken to make a light summertime entree.
view alizekel's profile
That looks quite delicious. I like that (at least according to your trial) the ingredients are "recommended." I like recipes where I don't have to follow it exactly and it still tastes good.
The New Cook
view Andy2's profile
I think this might be the most delicious broccoli I have ever had. I was out of red wine vinegar so I subbed balsamic and it still turned out great.
view carrier's profile
I thought this tasted nice enough but the smell of the raw broccoli completely permeated my fridge even in a tupperware so I just tossed it after the first day. The oil they call for is in excess and when using EVOO as called for there is like half an inch sitting in the bottom and it just solidifies in the fridge, yuck. Anyway, if you plan on making this its best to serve right away (after 1 hr) and to a group of people unless of course you can eat 2 pounds of broccoli yourself!
view sally599's profile
I tried the recipe but added cauliflower and sliced shiitake mushrooms. I used lemon juice and much more of it than the recipe called for. And I used less olive oil. It was absolutely delicious. The next day I tried it with bok choy, tofu, mushrooms. I would not call that batch a success.
view sarvey's profile