Peanut sauce is, to me, sort of what I think ketchup is to 3 year olds. I can eat it on anything, and often, whatever I'm eating it with is the vehicle for the sauce, rather than an equal partner.
That's why this week, when I had a few heads of broccoli running out of time in my fridge, I whipped up a quick batch of 5-ingredient peanut sauce to enjoy with them. Sure, I'm an adult, I can just eat broccoli. But, well, I wanted to eat broccoli with peanut sauce.
I cut the broccoli a little differently than you probably do normally. I like all parts of the broccoli, including the stems, and often cook them together because I love a mix of textures. The bushy part (the floret, formally) gets soft and tender, the stems stay a little al dente, and suddenly, broccoli isn't quite so boring.
I "shaved" the broccoli with my chef's knife, though I was aiming for a result that's a big thicker than a true shave. I wanted it to be thin enough to cook quickly (because I want to cook it hot for maximum browning), but thick enough that it's toothsome.
Because I was planning to serve this as a light dinner, I wanted to add a bit of extra bulk, which came in the form of a crunchy nut and herb topping. I also made extra peanut sauce, anticipating leftovers, so that I could use the leftovers to toss with noodles or make fried rice. You could halve the peanut sauce recipe, if you wanted, but it holds well in the fridge and can be blended with a little rice vinegar for a quick salad dressing, drizzled on lettuce wraps, or used as a dip for veggies during the week.
This made 6 to 8 servings, depending on how you eat it. You can easily increase the quantity of broccoli, if you like, so make how much you need.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup roasted cashews – Peanuts or almonds would be great here. Especially peanuts, since we’re using peanut butter.
- 1/2 large jalapeño or 1 small jalapeño, seeds and veins removed
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves – Mint would also be nice!
- 8 large basil leaves
- Pinch kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup peanut butter – Any nut or seed butter would work, but peanut butter probably has the most pronounced flavor.
- 2 tablespoons honey -- You can use agave syrup, brown sugar, or granulated sugar, in a pinch.
- 2 cloves garlic
- Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce -- Use gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos, if you prefer.
- 2 heads broccoli -- There's no reason this dish couldn't work with other veggies, but the cooking time might change. Try cauliflower, asparagus, or Brussels sprouts.
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more as needed
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Directions
- In a small food processor, combine the cashews, jalapeño, cilantro, basil, and salt. Pulse until a coarse mixture forms. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the sesame seeds. Cover the bowl with a damp paper towel and refrigerate.
- Wipe out the food processor, and add the peanut butter, honey, garlic, lime juice, and soy sauce. Blend until well-combined. Add hot water, 1 tsp at a time, if needed, to form a sauce the consistency of heavy cream. Set aside.
- Place the broccoli on a cutting board and trim the dry stem end. Using a chef’s knife, half the broccoli and place the flat end on the cutting board. Use your knife to slice into the broccoli, like you are shaving it, to make approximately 1/4-inch thick slices. These will not be clean slices, so don’t worry if the broccoli falls apart.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet or cast-iron pan over high heat. Add more, if needed, so the bottom of the pan is completely coated. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the broccoli and a pinch of salt, working in two batches if needed to form one even layer in the pan. Cook, without stirring, until the broccoli begins to brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Stir and continue to cook without stirring, until the broccoli begins to brown. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is browned and the stem pieces are mostly tender. It’s okay (and good!) if some pieces are a bit al dente.
- Transfer the broccoli to a bowl and add the sesame oil and about half of the peanut sauce. Toss to coat, adding more sauce, if you’d like.
- Transfer to a platter and top with the cashew mixture before serving.
- I ended up eating this with noodles a few days later, and it was great.
- You can serve this hot, room temperature, or even cold, so make it whenever is most convenient for you. The peanut sauce may dry out a bit when it gets cold, so use some of the leftover sauce to redress is before serving it, if needed.
- If you like spice, you can add a dried chile to the peanut sauce, or just a few dashes of hot sauce or a good squeeze of Sriracha.
- If you have them on hand, a dash of fish sauce or a quick grate of fresh ginger would certainly take the peanut sauce up a notch.
- Posted by Laura, DISH editor
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