MIGHTY BROCCOLINI SALAD
I love this salad. Like really, really, LOVE this salad. To the point where I sometimes tell The Roommate “Sorry, there’s none left” while standing in front of the fridge and actively stuffing my face with more salad. The tail end of this year’s broccoli and broccolini boom coincided with the harvesting of our garlic crop - which, I might add, is easily the most exciting time of the year for me on the Farm. Because garlic. It’s our most prized crop and the only one we don’t share with family and friends. (Don’t worry, everyone knows how weird and possessive we are about our garlic and they are all very understanding.) So when faced with a fridge full of broccolini and a shed full of drying garlic, the obvious answer was to make this addictive and flavourful salad 5 times in three weeks.
The first time I made this recipe for someone other than myself and The Roommate, it was for a childhood friend while we were on a girls’ weekend getaway in the beautiful Barossa Valley, and we devoured it while attempting to complete a cryptic crossword. Side note: has anyone ever attempted one of these? They are HARD, but super validating if you ever want to feel either really smart, or really dumb (guess which I felt. Hint: rhymes with “crumb”). At the time, I made it with brussel sprouts, which is another reason why I love this dish so much. It’s versatile and lends itself well to improvisation - it’s just as delicious with green beans or brussel sprouts and the cooking method is the same. In fact my friend loved that version so much that she has now incorporated it into her own recipe portfolio (a higher gastronomic compliment there could not be, in my opinion).
It would be easy to assume based on the first photo that the flavour punch this dish packs is mainly attributed to the garlic and chilli, but the secret hero ingredient of this dish is actually the one lurking blurrily (blurking?) in the background: anchovies! Specifically, anchovies in chilli olive oil (or regular olive oil). It doesn’t take much either - two or three fillets can make a huge difference in flavour, adding a beautiful, umami-esque savouriness that is hugely noticeable when absent.
The beauty of this dish is that it’s deceptively simple but its complexities really shine once you taste it. Flavour-wise, it’s nothing short of indulgent. The high-intensity flavours of the garlic, chilli and anchovies complement the more mellow broccolini beautifully, not to mention the parmesan that’s added at the end, because almost everything is better with cheese. But it’s the texture of the dish that really brings it home. Tender-crisp broccolini accented with bits of fried garlic, the buttery anchovy, and to bring it all home, the decadent ooziness of soft-boiled eggs. Salad, please get in my mouth.
Oh, and the other beautiful thing about this recipe? It’s so simple that The Roommate can make it for himself when I’m away.
Ingredients:
Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
500g broccolini, stems trimmed
6 large cloves garlic, minced
2 red chillies, minced
3 large eggs
3 large anchovy fillets (in olive oil), roughly torn
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to serve
Salt & pepper to taste
Method:
1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Blanche the broccolini for about 3 minutes or until bright green, but still tender. Remove the broccolini and immediately run under cold tap water, or plunge into ice water to prevent further cooking. Drain and set aside.
2. While the broccolini is blanching, bring a small pot of water to a gentle boil at medium-high heat. Add the eggs and cook for 6 minutes. Remove the eggs and immediately run under cold tap water or plunge into ice water to prevent further cooking. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and chilli and stir for about a minute. Once fragrant, add the broccolini and stir until it gets a little more coloured, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Transfer the contents of the skillet into a serving dish, then top with the torn anchovies, soft boiled eggs and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then serve warm.