I always have broccoli on hand. It’s a vegetable my children eat with little complaint: boiled, well buttered, well salted. It’s a vegetable that appears in our farm share in late summer, but I find it tastes good, even from the unpleasant grocery store, year-round. Most often I roast it. I like it very charred. In this recipe, the broccoli is charred but it’s not roasted, and though the char resembles that from roasted broccoli, the texture is completely different. Carla, in the recipe notes, says: “Searing broccoli lets you straddle the line between raw and cooked.” Here, halved broccoli heads sear for about five minutes on one side and just one to two on the other. In the end, Carla says, “a cake tester should meet firm resistance when inserted into the thickest part of stem.” The result is firm stalks with tender, charred florets. When you first taste this salad, you may find it sturdier than you are used to. But as you continue to eat it, which I suggest you do with a fork and knife, I think you’ll find the texture surprisingly nice, a refreshing change from fork-tender broccoli. I also think you may find the texture, after months of eating roasted vegetables, to be, in fact, perfect. This is a great salad to make ahead of time or bring to a party as it holds very well and tastes even better with time: as it sits, the almonds, dates, and cheddar soak up the flavors of the dressing, a mix of olive oil, vinegar, and honey. The broccoli remains firm as time passes, but it, too, absorbs the dressing, becoming more flavorful. Carla, if you are unfamiliar, is the food director of Bon Appetit. She’s incredibly knowledgable and trustworthy — you may have unknowingly made one of her recipes — and she’s a fun one to follow on Instagram. (Incidentally, I’m just learning, also on Youtube: This video with Queer Eye’s Anotoni Porowski made me laugh.) I’ve spent little time with Where Cooking Begins, which focuses on both techniques and recipes, but I have many pages and recipes flagged, and I sense it’s a treasure, a collection of pearls amassed over many years from many sources: from her mother, who loved to cook, from work as a restaurant line cook, and finally from testing and creating recipes for Bon Appetit for over a decade. I’m looking forward to learning so much more. As always, I’ll keep you posted. Here’s the play-by-play: Gather your ingredients. Small-ish broccoli heads are good for this one. Halve them. Sear them. Five minutes on the first side. One to two minutes on the second side. Once cool, cut them. Chop some dates and almonds. Dress the broccoli with salt, oil, vinegar, and honey. Toss. Add the dates and almonds. Toss again. Shave in some cheddar. Toss and serve. Carla Lalli Music’s Where Cooking Begins. 5 from 14 reviews As noted in the post above, the broccoli in this salad is pan-seared, which allows the edges to get charred while keeping the stalks/bodies firm. I think you should make the recipe once as directed — the texture may be firmer than you are used to, but I think you’ll find it really nice and refreshing as you eat it. If you find it too firm, next time, sear the broccoli for a longer amount of time on the second side. I find small heads of broccoli work best for this salad. This is a salad that can be tailored to your liking. Depending on the size of your dates, you may only need 4 or 5. You may find that the honey is unnecessary given the dates provide a nice sweetness. (I always add the honey.) If you can’t find Marcona almonds, regular almonds are fine — I’ve been using roasted, salted almonds. Other cheeses could work in place of the cheddar, though the cheddar is really nice.
