Roasted Broccolini Caesar Salad

A new year calls for some innovation.  As the pages on the calendar turned, I thought it would be fun to mix up our salad game and try a new salad each week.  This Broccolini Caesar Salad created by Justin Chapple for the June 2021 issue of Food and Wine caught my eye a while back . The salad’s beautiful combination of greens and differences in texture appealed to me. The recipe has been patiently sitting in a pile near my cookbooks ever since, waiting its turn to bring new tastes to our table.

For my version of Roasted Broccolini Caesar salad, I made a few changes to Chapple’s recipe. First, I opted to replace the sliced red onion in the original recipe with a milder, smaller sliced shallot. I also subbed pistachios for the almonds, due in part to what I had on hand and because their lovely verdant hue matches the salad so well. Finally, I added a dusting of Parmesan for both its texture and flavor to the final dish.

Toasting and Roasting

There were hurdles to get this salad on our table, but I overcame them. A few days after our holiday guests departed, our microwave and oven combination went on the blink. I turned to my trusty toaster oven to bake the pistachios and roast the broccolini.  Since I was making a half-portion of the original recipe, my smaller appliance worked fine for this task. (But I am looking forward to having the basic workhorses in my kitchen function again!)

As the pistachios and broccolini baked, I had time to slice the kale and tear the lettuce leaves. Chapple’s recipe calls for Little Gem lettuces, but any crisp variety will do.  I found a lettuce called “Rocky Mountain Crunch” at the store, and it worked beautifully. After finishing the kale and lettuce prep, I cut the roasted broccolini in half crosswise.

Next I prepped the Caesar dressing.  It combines mayonnaise, vinegar, Dijon mustard, and garlic with a few mashed anchovies for that briny, rich Caesar profile. The dressing is quick to put together. But you could easily substitute a store-bought Caesar dressing if you wished.

Crisp and Green

The crunch in this salad comes from many components—the charred broccolini, the crisp lettuce, the nuts. The chickpeas provide a creamy texture that offsets the crunchy elements well.

I love the varieties of green in the salad, too—dark green kale, lime-colored lettuce, and emerald-hued broccolini.

Tossed with the creamy dressing and sprinkled with Parmesan, this salad can easily be a main course or a great side dish.

We decided it was a delicious way to welcome the new year.

Roasted Broccolini Caesar Salad

Dawn Dobie

A mixture of roasted Broccolini, kale, and crisp lettuce makes a hearty, imaginative salad.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

• ¼ cup raw pistachios
• ¾ pound fresh Broccolini ends trimmed off and thick stems halved lengthwise
• 1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more for the salad dressing
• 1 shallot thinly sliced
• 3 anchovy fillets drained (or 1 teaspoon anchovy paste)
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
• Scant ½ teaspoon grated garlic
• ½ 15- ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 2 cups crunchy lettuce leaves --such as Little Gem, Romaine, Rocky Mountain Crunch or other, torn into bite-size pieces
• 4 ounces Lacinato Kale leaves stemmed and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place pistachios on a baking pan and roast for 8-10 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove from oven, transfer to a plate and allow to cool.
• Raise oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Toss Broccolini with olive oil on baking sheet, making sure that the Broccolini heads are oiled, then season with ¼ teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Spread the Broccolini so that they don’t overlap and roast until the florets are charred a bit, 12-17 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. When they are cool, cut the stalks in half crosswise.
• Place the sliced shallot in a small bowl of ice water while you prepare the other ingredients. Drain well and pat dry before adding to salad.
• While the Broccolini bakes, tear the lettuce leaves and slice the kale.
• Meanwhile chop anchovy fillets into very small pieces, then mash them with a fork. Whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, and garlic in a small bowl. Season liberally with black pepper and stir in anchovy paste. Mix well.
• Place the Broccolini, lettuce, and kale together in a large serving bowl. Add the dressing and toss. Sprinkle on the shallots, chickpeas, and Parmesan. Toss again. Sprinkle with pistachios and serve.

Notes

Adapted from a recipe by Justin Chapple in Food and Wine, June 2021.

Salad dressing can be made up to 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.