You Will Beg for a Broccoli Sandwich

You think I’m joking.  I’m not.

Garlicky Roasted Broccoli and Brie Sandwich

This is a variation on New York Times food writer Melissa Clark’s “Garlicky Sesame-cured Broccoli Salad.”  Her original recipe called for raw broccoli, which I found off-putting. The garlic and sharply aromatic cumin in the recipe do a great job of masking the broccoli flavor, but when the broccoli is raw, the cognitive dissonance between the non-broccoli flavor and the rubber-crunchy broccoli texture is just too much to bear. (It’s like eating a steak that tastes like a cupcake.)   To solve this, I  roasted the broccoli first which made it slightly crisp on the outside, juicy on the inside, and gave it a mellower, nuttier  flavor.

Grilled broccoli and Affinoise sandwich

STEP ONE: ROAST THE BROCCOLI

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Take 2 heads broccoli and cut into bite-size florets. Toss them on a baking pan, drizzle with olive oil,  sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper.  Mix to coat. Roast for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

STEP TWO: MARINATE THE ROASTED BROCCOLI

Ingredients

1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp kosher salt, more to taste

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp roasted sesame oil (the Asian, orange-ish-brown sort)
Large pinch crushed red pepper flakes.

Combine the vinegar and salt in the bottom of a large bowl.  Add the roasted broccoli to the bowl and toss to coat.  (Yes,  I know it seems like a small amount of liquid for a large amount of broccoli, but it works.)

In a skillet, heat the olive oil, then add garlic and cumin,  and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in sesame oil and pepper flakes, then immediately pour the whole mixture over broccoli and toss well.  Marinate for at least one hour at room temperature.

At this point, you will have a bowl full of lovely rich, salty broccoli that can be served as an appetizer, tossed in with pasta,  added to a green salad, eaten as a snack instead of potato chips, or made into a delicious sandwich:

STEP THREE:  ASSEMBLE AN OPEN-FACE SANDWICH

Cut a few slices of good baguette,  spread with a Brie-like cheese (I used Affinoise), top with two or three  spears of broccoli.