It would be shocking if I went to London and didn’t come home with at least one dish that warranted recreating and so here we go with this charred broccoli salad.
My friends and I have a shared Instagram album of all the places that we want to eat in London, mostly filled with the most decadent looking pastries one can find on the internet. It would take us years and thousands of miles walked to make a dent in our list without making a dent to our waistlines. A worthy challenge for the future trips upon trips that we plan to make to our most favorite destination.
But I digress. This charred broccoli salad is a far cry from the gluttony in that album, but it is a copycat from the most-beloved Dishoom restaurant. C and I hit up their Kensington location after The Boat Race and ordered too much food, and none of it disappointed.
You’ve actually seen another Dishoom copycat on these pages- their Ruby Chicken from my last WEJ (#WeekendEuropeanJaunt) with R back in 2019. If you haven’t made it yet…well, what are you waiting for?
Anyway, this salad.
What do you need to make this amazingly delicious charred broccoli salad?
- A large broccoli head will do you here, roasted simply with salt, pepper and EVOO. I immediately was in love with this salad because I love charred vegetables, particularly broccoli. Because I tend to buy mine frozen, I think a roast or broil gives them flavor and texture that thawing inevitably removes.
- Nuts and seeds. An essential ingredient in my formula for a bomb-ass salad. Three kinds here- pistachios (yes!), pumpkin seeds (yes!) and sunflower seeds (YES!). All chopped up nice and fine, but not ground to a paste.
- Dates. A fruit! Another essential for aforementioned bomb-ass salad.
- Fresh mint. Green on green is never a bad thing.
- An easy dressing of lime juice + honey + chili powder. No oil keeps this fresh and light.
Once the broccoli is nicely charred, let it cool a bit and give it 5 good pulses in the food processor. Toss in all the rest and get ready to shovel it in your mouth. That’s what I did as I was taking these pictures.
That being said, you may want to double the recipe.
And hey- since we’ve got no mayo going on here, I think it would just be a fab addition to any summer shindig. Just saying.
Charred Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 1 large head fresh broccoli, or 4 cups frozen broccoli florets
- 3 TB olive oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 ½ TB shelled and toasted pistachios
- 1 ½ TB toasted pumpkin seeds
- 1 ½ TB toasted sunflower seeds
- 5 dates
- 6 fresh mint leaves
For the dressing
- 1 lime, juiced approx 3-4 TB
- ½ TB honey
- ¼ tsp chili powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 375F.
- On a sheet pan or oven-safe dish, add the broccoli florets, and toss in the olive oil. Toss with salt. Roast approximately 45 minutes, until the florets of the broccoli are slightly charred. Set aside to cool slightly.
- While the broccoli is roasting, chop the nuts to desired size. Pit the dates and quarter. Cut the fresh mint into ribbons.
- Make the dressing by mixing together the honey, lime juice and chili powder. You may need to zap it in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen the honey and completely incorporate the dressing.
- Finely chop the cooled, charred broccoli. I used a food processor, pulsed 5 times for the consistency I wanted, but chop it as finely as you like. Add to a medium serving bowl.
- Add the nuts, dates and mint. Toss with the dressings and coat everything with the dressing. Serve hot or cold.
