Charred Broccoli Salad

I didn't have very high expectations for the food director of Bon Appetit's new cookbook, Where Cooking Begins. I've been badly burned recently by several cookbooks that launched to major acclaim but are completely undeserving (in my view).... and plenty of that hype came from Bon Appetit.

However, I can never resist a new cookbook, so I gave Carla Lalli Music's cookbook a try via the library. I loved this salad so much I bought her cookbook. The first week I tried this charred broccoli salad, I made it 4 times in that one week.

Carla's charred broccoli salad is filled with crispy bits of broccoli, salty cheese, salty almonds, more salt, pepper, oil, vinegar, honey, and a few chopped dates. It's everything you want to eat for lunch or dinner, or maybe even both.

Is there anything else to say?

Original source: Where Cooking Begins

Charred Broccoli Salad

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 0

Ingredients

• 2 broccoli heads 1 ½ pounds
• 5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper freshly ground
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar plus more to taste
• 6 Medjool dates pitted and roughly chopped
• 2 ounces sharp or aged cheddar shaved
• ½ cup salted Marcona almonds roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon honey plus more to taste

Instructions

• Trim ends of broccoli stalks, removing the dull woody section at the end. Separate the broccoli crown from the stems, then peel the stems and halve them lengthwise.
• Cut the broccoli heads in half through the top of the crown, creating two lobes. You should have 8 pieces total (4 stalk halves, 4 crown halves). Place in a large bowl and season well with salt and pepper.
• Place a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, then add 2 teaspoons oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Place the seasoned broccoli pieces cut side down in the skillet and cook, without disturbing, until the bottoms are well-browned but the broccoli is still crunchy, about 4-5 minutes [a cake tester or toothpick should meet firm resistance when inserted into the thickest part of a stalk]. Gently turn the heads over to lightly brown the rounded sides for 1 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board.
• Let the broccoli cool until you can safely handle it, then cut the heads and stems into ¼ inch pieces and move to a medium serving bowl. Add the cider vinegar, chopped dates, shaved cheddar, and chopped almonds. Pour in the honey and the remaining 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, then toss to coat. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as desired.
• The final salad should be a well-seasoned mix of chewy, sweet, bitter, and sour. If it’s not, tweak the seasonings until it suits your palate.

Notes

Make it yours by substituting:
Cauliflower for broccoli
Golden raisins or sour cherries for dates
Parmigiano or Manchego for the cheddar
Any other toasted and salted nut in place of the Marcona almonds
unseasoned rice vinegar or sherry vinegar for the cider vinegar