Roasted broccoli salad with chilli, mint and lemony tahini dressing

Name: Roasted broccoli salad with chilli, mint and lemony tahini dressing
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 6 as a side
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Ingredients: 2 heads of broccoli; 2 tbsp olive oil; ½ cup sultanas; 1 red chilli, finely sliced; 2 cups mint leaves, coarsely torn

Katrina Meynink

December 22, 2020

Roasted and raw broccoli salad.Katrina Meynink

easyTime:30 mins - 1 hourServes:6 as a side

I love the mix of roasted and fresh broccoli, it's what makes this salad. Just dress it when ready to serve as it is so light, lovely and bright when the dressing is added at the table.

Ingredients

2 heads of broccoli
2 tbsp olive oil
½ cup sultanas
1 red chilli, finely sliced
2 cups mint leaves, coarsely torn

Lemon tahini dressing

juice of 1 small lemon, plus zest reserved for the salad
80g tahini
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Method

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 175C fan-forced (195C conventional). Cut one head of broccoli, stems and all, into florets and place on a large flat baking tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle over the olive oil and using your hands, turn to coat. Season very generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes or until the florets are taking on a slightly charred colour. The point is to just give this some warmth and textural difference, rather than cook all the way through.
Step 2
While the broccoli is cooking, prepare the dressing by adding the lemon juice, tahini and garlic to a blender or food processor. Add about 80ml of cold water and a pinch of salt. Blitz until you have a smooth sauce. You are aiming for the consistency of thickened cream. If you feel it's too thin, add a touch more tahini and if it's too thick, add a splash of water.
Step 3
Slice the other head of broccoli into very thin slices, just as thin as you can manage using a knife – no need to bother with a mandolin. Roughly chop any larger chunks into bite-sized pieces. Add these to a bowl with the sultanas, chilli and mint leaves. Sprinkle over the lemon zest. Chop any of the larger sized pieces of roasted broccoli into bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl. Toss to coat and turn into a serving bowl. Drizzle over the tahini dressing and serve.