Broccoli Caesar Salad
By Andrea GearyPublished on April 1, 2025
Time
50 minutes
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Before You Begin
If you don’t have the full 1½ tablespoons of anchovy oil for brushing the bread, supplement with vegetable oil. We like the texture and appearance of torn croutons, but you can cut them into cubes if preferred. To serve two, halve all ingredients (use a small garlic clove and a pinch of pepper). Serve with grilled chicken breasts, salmon, or steak for a complete meal.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees.
- Place 1 broccoli crown half, cut side down, on cutting board and slice stalks ⅛ inch thick up to base of florets. Reserve sliced stems. Break or cut florets into 1-inch pieces (it’s fine if some break into smaller pieces), then transfer florets to rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining crowns.
- Drizzle florets with vegetable oil and toss well to coat. Sprinkle with salt and toss well to distribute. Arrange florets so they cover three-quarters of sheet. Place bread slices on remaining quarter of sheet. Brush both sides of bread with reserved anchovy oil and season with salt to taste.
- Roast until bread is crisp and deep golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer bread to cutting board. Spread florets over entire surface of sheet and continue to roast until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer sheet to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes.
- While broccoli is cooling, whisk anchovies, grated Parmesan, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, Worcestershire, and pepper together in large bowl. Tear bread into ½-inch pieces.
- Add reserved broccoli stems, florets, and half of croutons to bowl with dressing and toss to combine. Transfer to serving bowl. Top with remaining croutons, shaved Parmesan, and freshly cracked black pepper to taste, and serve.
Time
50 minutesYield
Serves 4Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
For a Caesar salad with all the winning traits of the classic but a bit more substance, we swapped in robust broccoli for delicate romaine lettuce. We roasted the florets to take advantage of their nutty tenderness, and we thinly sliced the raw stems, which we valued for their refreshing crunch. Traditional Caesar dressing contains plenty of glutamates and nucleotides, which combine to create a synergistic umami effect that we wanted to retain, but we opted for a base of store-bought mayonnaise instead of raw egg yolks because it produced a thicker emulsion that was a better match for the sturdiness of the broccoli. We swabbed slices of rustic bread with anchovy oil and toasted them along with the roasting florets. Torn into jagged shards, they provided both crunch and chew. A final sprinkle of Parmesan shavings made an appealing topping for our reimagined Caesar.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
If you don’t have the full 1½ tablespoons of anchovy oil for brushing the bread, supplement with vegetable oil. We like the texture and appearance of torn croutons, but you can cut them into cubes if preferred. To serve two, halve all ingredients (use a small garlic clove and a pinch of pepper). Serve with grilled chicken breasts, salmon, or steak for a complete meal.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees.
- Place 1 broccoli crown half, cut side down, on cutting board and slice stalks ⅛ inch thick up to base of florets. Reserve sliced stems. Break or cut florets into 1-inch pieces (it’s fine if some break into smaller pieces), then transfer florets to rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining crowns.
- Drizzle florets with vegetable oil and toss well to coat. Sprinkle with salt and toss well to distribute. Arrange florets so they cover three-quarters of sheet. Place bread slices on remaining quarter of sheet. Brush both sides of bread with reserved anchovy oil and season with salt to taste.
- Roast until bread is crisp and deep golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer bread to cutting board. Spread florets over entire surface of sheet and continue to roast until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer sheet to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes.
- While broccoli is cooling, whisk anchovies, grated Parmesan, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, Worcestershire, and pepper together in large bowl. Tear bread into ½-inch pieces.
- Add reserved broccoli stems, florets, and half of croutons to bowl with dressing and toss to combine. Transfer to serving bowl. Top with remaining croutons, shaved Parmesan, and freshly cracked black pepper to taste, and serve.
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