broccoli? for spring? groundbreaking.

well, technically it's broccolini but whatever!

Hello lovers!

I’m sorry I’ve been gone for so long! I feel bad! I have been very busy making little reels and being in shows and having a whirlwind two-and-a-half-week-long romance that ended in heartbreak. Well, not heartbreak, but, well, whatever — honestly, nothing like a boy making you a little sad to remind you what a gift it is to feel something. Anything, really. (And to kiss on the beach at sunset. Do recommend!)

I would invite you all to the next Schnitzel Party but it’s already sold out, which is fun and wild and unexpected. If you’re in the Bay Area, you can still come by and have a drink and dance and see some drag; you just can’t eat schnitzel (until next time).

Anyway, this was supposed to be a recipe for pasta, but I haven’t been able to test it enough times to get it right (that’s life!), so it’s a newsletter about broccolini, which, in some ways, is way, way better.

Spring is here! Produce abounds! Let us rejoice in greenery and a little bit of sun.

My favorite way to eat a lot of vegetables is to blanch them, which might be a little controversial, but I don’t care. Yes, roasting is amazing. Little compares to charred, salty, crispy bits of asparagus or broccoli(ni), but peak produce can also shine on its own. Crispy be damned!

gschlichte

A post shared by @gschlichte

Plus, there’s a little secret that will make all your blanched veggies shine, and that is… are you ready?? You’ve gotta be salting the ice bath, diva! That’s right! Salt! The! Ice! Bath! If you’re only salting the boiling water, you’re not doing yourself any favors.

Think about it like this — blanching happens fast. The veggies are only in the water for two, maybe three minutes. Even if you’re blanching in seawater, none of that really has enough time to penetrate the vegetables and season them too deeply. Then you dunk them in ice water, and BOOM! Rinsed clean. Unless? Exactly! Unless you salt the ice bath!!

Rather than rinsing all the salt off, it puts a little bit more on. It’ also helps vegetables retain any salt they did soak up while balancing, rather than leeching it out into the ice bath. Then, once drained, the salt stays on the surface in a perfectly even, stunningly gorgeous layer of flavor and delight. And this isn’t just a little trick reserved for vegetables. Salt the ice bath for shrimp cocktail! Salt the ice bath for shrimp cocktail!!!!!!!

Sorry for yelling I am just very passionate about this.

If you want to put this little trick to the test, this recipe for blanched broccolini with lemon garlic tahini and toasted almonds is really, really worth it. Also, this playlist is nice to listen to if you need one of those, too. I made it for another recipe I posted a while ago — citrus and creme — and if you’re looking for a dessert, you should absolutely make that while you’re at it.

Ok! Bye!

<3

G

blanched broccolini with lemon garlic tahini and toasted almonds

This should serve 4 to 6, but also maybe just you if you’re spending the day alone and walking around your house listening to music with the windows open while the sun shines in and just slowly eating little spears of broccolini for four hours in a robe and thinking about what a gift it is to be alive.

blanched broccolini with lemon garlic tahini and toasted almonds: ingredients

• 3 bunches of broccolini (roughly 21 ounces total)

• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

• 1/2 cup tahini

• 2 lemons, zest and juice

• 1/3 cup of kosher salt, divided

• 1 tablespoon good olive oil

• 2 cloves of garlic, grated

• fresh cracked black pepper

blanched broccolini with lemon garlic tahini and toasted almonds: method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and spread the almonds out on a baking sheet. Roast until deeply toasty and brown. Once roasted, transfer almonds to anything that’s not the hot tray and set aside. While that’s going on, set a pot of water over high heat and add half the salt. Then, make the ice bath by filling a bowl with water, ice cubes, and the remaining salt. Mix to dissolve. Taste the ice bath, and if you can’t taste the salt, add some more! It shouldn’t be salty like the sea, but the salt should come through.

2. While the water comes to a boil, trim the ends off the broccolini and then make your tahini. Mix the tahini, 1/4 of water, the zest and juice of the first lemon, the garlic, and kosher salt and black pepper to taste until smooth. If it’s too tight or lumpy, add more water, a tablespoon at a time until it’s creamy and loose.

3. Once the water is simmering, add the broccolini — you’ll probably need to do it in two batches. Make sure it’s totally submerged in the water, and let it cook for two minutes. If the stalks are particularly thick, you might push it to three. They should be tender but still firm! Once done, transfer to the (salted!) ice bath using tongs and repeat until all the broccolini is cooked.

4. Drain the broccolini in a colander and give it a couple of good shakes to get as much moisture off as possible. Let it hang out in the sink for a couple of minutes! There’s no rush!

5. Plate it up! Arrange the broccolini however you want on a serving plate, then zest and juice the second lemon over the top and hit it with a few cracks of black pepper. Drizzle the tahini all over and finish it all off with a big shower of those toasted almonds.

And that’s it! Enjoy! Also, FWIW, you can and should do this with pretty much any spring vegetable you want. Asparagus! Carrots! Snap peas! Radishes! Cooking time will vary but they will all be very delicious!

Ok bye!!!!!!