Blistered broccolini with Charred Dates, Lemons & Sesame

Ingredients

PRODUCE

1 pound broccolini

1 lemon

1 garlic clove

PANTRY

½ cup pitted Medjool dates (about 3 ounces)

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Directions

• Do some prep:

Trim about 1 inch from the stems of 1 pound broccolini. Halve any very thick stems lengthwise so that they are all about the same thickness.

• Thinly slice half of the lemon into rounds (discard the thick pithy end). Cut each of those rounds into quarters. We're going to caramelize the lemon pieces. Reserve the remaining lemon half for squeezing later on.

• Tear ½ cup pitted Medjool dates into smaller bite-size pieces.

2 Get blisterin':

+ Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 12-inch cast-iron over medium high heat.

* Add the broccolini and season with salt. Toss it once or twice to evenly coat with oil, then cook, undisturbed, until charred in spots, 3 to 4 minutes. Toss again and continue to cook until bright green, well charred, and tender, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Turn off the heat. Finely grate 1 large garlic clove right into the skillet and toss to coat.' Taste a piece of broccolini for seasoning and adjust as needed. Transfer the garlicky broccolini and any little bits left in the pan to a serving plate.

+ Place the skillet over medium heat, add the sliced lemon pieces, torn dates, and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and cook, undisturbed, until the lemons are caramelized in some spots and the dates have darkened in color, 2 minutes longer.

Serve: Scatter the caramelized lemons and dates over the broccolini and drizzle with 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Finish with a good squeeze of lemon juice.

Notes

From Molly (Cook this Book)