We went to Fiji last week on a family holiday and stayed on a beautiful island. A holiday we won’t be forgetting in a hurry.
I think at first they thought I had to be a health inspector. Surely no normal guest would be asking so many questions about the food and the way it was prepared, always popping their head over the pass after each and every meal to chat to the chef.
We ate at the beach bar mainly, loving the casual-ness of it all, in particular, how the girls could all run along the sand after scoffing their nuggets, spaghetti bolognese and local crumbed reef fish and chips.
I loved the fresh walu steak, scallops, coleslaw and hummus, but the broccoli! Oh my gosh, the broccoli.
Virginia Trioli in her new book, “A bit on the side” talks about her love of a good side dish, in her opinion, although often overlooked, a good accompaniment to the main meal can often be what makes a dining experience.
A well dressed garden salad or in this case – some chargrilled broccoli in an “almond sauce” really was the star of the show at the dinner table.
After questioning the kitchen staff who made me think that it wasn’t often they were approached in such a manner asking about their vegetables, I’m told that it was made with tahini, chilli, ginger and sesame oil and boy did it take the humble broccoli to a whole new level. The “almond sauce” they were referring to was the house made tahini that they added “almond flakes” to apparently.
I ordered two servings from there on in, going perfectly with my chosen cocktail, the pina colada. Our favourite waitress at the resort was calling me “the broccoli girl” by the end of our stay.
All worries of my role as probable health inspector evaporating and being downgraded to “weirdo foodie” as time went on.
We’re back home now and I’ve made this dish so many times that I’ve lost count. It’s the perfect side dish to sit alongside some grilled meat on the barbie. Fried in the pan or grilled on the barbie to get nicely charred before finishing off in the oven and then dressed in an irresistible tahini sauce, you’ll never eat broccoli another way again.
It’s delicious, healthy and totally moreish.
This “weirdo foodie” can’t get enough.
best ever broccoli
2 x heads of broccoli
A really good drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper
for the dressing:
A good tablespoon of tahini
1 x teaspoon of minced garlic
1 x teaspoon of minced ginger
2 x tablespoons of soy sauce
1 x tablespoon of sriracha (or you can use chilli flakes, chilli flakes or sweet chilli sauce instead)
1 x tablespoon of rice wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar or even white vinegar)
1 x tablespoon of honey (or maple syrup)
1 x teaspoon of sugar
1 x scant teaspoon of sesame oil (a little goes a long way)
1 x tablespoon of olive oil
A couple of tablespoons of water to loosen up the sauce
Seasoning of salt and pepper
- Cut the broccoli lengthways in to roughly 8 pieces, leaving the stem on.
- Add the broccoli pieces to a large, hot, non stick fry pan with a good dash of olive oil, seasoning here with salt and pepper and cook until you get it nicely charred on the outside (similarly, you can barbecue the broccoli instead).
- Now throw the broccoli into a large baking dish (drizzling with a little more olive oil if needed) and roast in a hot oven for about 10 minutes or until cooked to your liking (I make sure that it still has a nice bite to it, we don’t want it to become terribly soft).
- Now simply pour the dressing over the top, tossing to coat in the sauce before arranging in a round shallow serving dish and bringing to the table. Optional: serve some toasted flaked almonds over the top.
- Enjoy.
lo's kitchen 