Grilled Broccoli and Lemon With Chile and Garlic Recipe (2024)

You will find elsewhere on the Times site a recipe called "Vegan Caesar Salad With Crisp Chickpeas." That recipe uses Caper Brine, Nutritional Yeast, Mustard, Garlic, and White Miso paste for a *very* rich and delicious flavor profile that (to my tastes, and I eat seafood and vegetables) works even better than anchovies and well mimics the rich, salty, briny anchovy vibe.

My everyday recipe is to roast broccoli florets tossed with olive oil, dried red chilis, salt & pepper (add garlic, cumin, or whatever spice profile you are looking for) on a sheet pan at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes (toss halfway during cooking), until starting to char. You can then eat them with rice, pasta, quinoa, add to soup, etc. I make a large batch each Sunday and nibble all week.

Capers are a good swap for anchovies!

Any suggestions to swap out anchovies and make this vegan?

This is why I love to BUY at Otto Lenghi…is it three dirty pans, plus a bowl and tongs? Love this dish, but I wish someone would simplify it for home cooking.

I love this recipe, but the ratio of effort to reward is out of sync for me. An attempt to simplify:- broccoli in the oven on a sheet pan, 10 min. @ 425F, finish briefly under broiler- at the same time, 60ml olive oil in the pan (90ml is too much), garlic, chili and anchovies per steps 3 and 4 of the recipe - skip the charred lemons, instead combine 1/2 a preserved lemon (even lemon juice could work), olive oil and parsley - combine/finish per step 6 of the recipeEnjoy!

For those wanting a vegan version, the original recipe doesn’t call for anchovies - just the garlic/chile mixture tossed with the chargrilled broccoli and topped with toasted almond flakes or thin slices of lemon. It’s delicious.

Cooks Illustrated says that miso blended with ground toasted nori is the best substitute for anchovies.

It seems to me this recipe could be greatly simplified by tossing all the ingredients together (minus the parsley), spreading them on a baking sheet, roasting them in a pre-heated 400° oven for 25 min., smashing the anchovies, then a final tossing with the parsley before transferring to your favorite serving platter.

I made this three times, and never measured the 89 milliliters of olive oil properly. I used several grades of laboratory glassware but it's really hard to not end up with 88 or 90.5 mL. I did try it with a kitchen tablespoon but that gave me 92.3 mL. I should probably just relax, but I'm sure it will never taste as good as Mr. Ottolenghi's recipe unless I can get it right.

Ann notes "I make a large batch each Sunday and nibble all week."I too, make a large bath, sometimes on Sundays. but usually end up eating it all the same day.

Vegan swap-out for anchovies....try concentrated olive brine.

Without having made it, you want strong imami flavor here, so maybe add some mushroom concentrate / boullion in tiny amounts til you get that effect? No need to pan sauté it of course.

A lot of pans for a plate of broccoli...sheet pan method is easier

Like others, my reaction to this was "Man, that took 90 minutes and dirtied way too many pans for a veggie side dish!" Also beware of the harsh bitterness of the lemons, even after roasting (we picked them off the finished dish), and the weird off-flavor the anchovies added. But Ottolenghi is all about weird combinations, so I guess I should have been expecting it. Not a fan; this one won't get a repeat performance. Actually some of the commentators' variations seem far superior to this.

Keeping it a bit simpler. Switch out for broccoli rabe and just char right on a grill, no need to blanch. Easier (and tastier)

This is one of my favorite recipes on this site. I make it on movie night and share the platter with my sweetheart. Crusty bread and a simple fruit salad and we have a delicious spread to graze on. Washing up while discussing the film round out a perfect evening.

Not one of his simpler recipes for what could be a simple grilled broccoli but extremely delish. I modified by mixing anchovy paste, harissa, & preserved lemon together for the sauce.

I love this recipe and make it as written, very often. I don’t mind washing up a few dishes-this is worthy! My husband and I devour it right off the platter and I wish I could say the leftovers are delicious but we never have any.

Delicious! I love plain old roasted broccoli but this recipe is so worth the extra effort. Next time, I'd use meyer lemons or make sure to make thinner slices because my lemony sauce was a little too bitter for my liking, but nonetheless, would recommend making this if you have some extra time. Served this hot instead of as a cold salad. The fried garlic and chili combo was amazing too. Will make extra next time for topping other dishes.

I have made this two ways now, once with grilled zucchini and once with blanched broccoli. Both are good, but in terms of flavor I actually think the zucchini is the better option; if you need more crunch to balance out the texture of other elements of the meal, go with the broccoli. The only other observation is that this recipe is a bit more time consuming that it appears on first reading, so definitely plan ahead.

Excellent. Used the oil from the anchovies on the broccoli; instead of a Fresno chili, I used a bit of sesame oil in sautéing the garlic. All else as suggested! Thanks! Served it over roasted eggplant (seasoned with garlic pepper & salt)

I made this with grilled zucchini instead of broccoli and it was delicious. Charred thick medallions of super fresh zucchini on the grill, and poured/dolloped the anchovy dressing on top of them vs. tossing, but other than that all the same. Everyone raved and it looked beautiful.

It's so delicious that I now cook it every week

Wonderful flavors. For those of you without a grill, I pan-roasted the broccoli at 425°F for 20 minutes. Prepared all other parts of the dish as written. Still delicious.

This is great. A bit of work with the separate grilling, but worth it

Capers are a good swap for anchovies

Very pretty. I liked the roasted lemon with parsley, olive oil, and lemon juice. Think I cooked the garlic and pepper on too high a heat and they got too crispy/burned. Will try on a lower heat. Did not enjoy the anchovy aspect. I’m usually pretty game to try new things and like most of what I try, so the strong dislike of the taste with the anchovies surprised me - maybe I made it wrong. Will make without the anchovies, next time.

Oh, my goodness! A vibrant umami bomb. I love it!