This charred broccolini recipe with its preserved lemon and caper dressing is a delicious warm side dish. Or add feta and toasted seeds if you want a room-temperature charred broccolini salad. You can even add a cup of cooked brown lentils to turn it into a more substantial complete meal.
Place the sheet pan in the oven and preheat it to 440 °F.
Meanwhile, put the broccolini (or broccoli) in a large mixing bowl, and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss everything well to combine.
When the oven is at temperature, remove the preheated baking tray and arrange the broccolini (or broccoli) evenly in the tray. Reserve the mixing bowl for the marinade.
Roast until cooked with crispy, charred edges – turning or stirring after 10 minutes. It takes 15 to 20 minutes for broccolini and up to 30 minutes for broccoli to reach the perfect tenderness and char in my oven.
In the meantime, place the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the reserved mixing bowl. Add the capers, preserved lemon, garlic, lemon juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and most of the chopped parsley. Give the marinade a quick stir.
As soon as the broccolini is done cooking, place the just-tender, charred broccolini in the marinade while hot – even if you plan on serving the dish cooled – and toss to combine.
Arrange the tenderstem broccoli (or broccoli florets) on a serving plate. Top it with the remaining parsley and serve warm. Alternatively, if you prefer a room-temperature broccolini salad, allow the broccoli to cool down before topping it with the feta and toasted seeds.
I use a conventional oven setting (non-fan). You may need to adjust the oven temperature to suit your type of oven or preferred setting.
See the full blog post for serving suggestions and leftover ideas!
This preserved lemon and charred broccolini recipe is inspired by Julia Turshen's “Charred broccoli with capers and lemon” from Now & Again (Amazon affiliate link). A great book if you love to reimagine leftovers as much as I do.The nutritional information estimates do not include the optional topping ingredients.