There are certain foods that I almost never cook, not because I don’t like them but because I can’t be bothered to deal with them.
These include:
Artichokes — happy to steam them whole and pluck off the leaves, but trimming them is too much trouble,
Fava beans — a skimpy yield and a pain to peel (although maybe there’s no need), and
Just about anything deep fried — becasue I don’t want to deal with all that oil.
I also have a decidedly love-hate relationship with tahini. It’s yummy stuff, good in sweet and savory recipes alike, but it’s also kind of a pain, what with all the separating and stirring.
This roasted broccoli makes great use of tahini, but it’s a recipe I kept putting off, primarily for the somewhat embarrassing reason that I didn’t feel like arm wrestling with my jar of sesame paste.
I like tahini, but I don’t like working with it. I’ve never really figured out a good way to emulsify everything, without bending one of my spoons in the process.
If anyone has any tips, I’ll gladly take them. I read somewhere that an immersion blender helps, but mine won’t fit in my tahini jar and scraping out the entire contents of the jar so that I could blend it together for the sake of two measly two tablespoons seemed like a lot of unnecessary effort.
In the end, I stirred the tahini as best I could but still had a few goopy lumps here and there. Smoother tahini would have been nice, but the broccoli was a win either way: nutty and lemony with crisp, almost caramelized, edges.
The entire recipe is ready in minutes (minus the time spent stirring tahini) and the leftovers were almost as good the next day.
It was enough to make me want to dip back into that tahini jar for another batch — and that’s saying something.
Adapted from Food52.
A nutty, lemony spin on roasted broccoli, this recipe takes just minutes to prepare (assuming your tahini is already well-stirred).
The original recipe calls for kosher salt, which I had and used, but table salt will work too. If you use table salt, I'd recommend starting with about half the amount and adding a little more if needed.
The recipe also suggested sprinkling extra lemon juice over the finished dish. I love lemon but thought the broccoli had plenty of lemony flavor without an extra spritz of juice, so you might want to try a piece first.
- 2 tablespoons tahini, well stirred
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to serve
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- several grinds black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups broccoli (about one large head), cut into bite-sized florets
Preheat oven to 450° F.
Place all of the ingredients except for the broccoli in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add broccoli and toss well to coat. Pour everything onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spread the broccoli out into a single layer and bake for 10 minutes. Serve hot, squeezing a little extra lemon juice on top, if desired.
https://pleasepassthepeas.com/tahini-roasted-broccoli/
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