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Roasted Brassicas with Lemon Tahini Sauce and Pickled Sultanas

Nora Dummer
This dish looks complicated but is actually quite simple to make. Roasting broccoli, cauliflower and romesco at a high heat brings out the sweet and savory tones inherent in these vegetables. Done properly, it is almost all you need for a stunning side. If you’d rather level up and incorporate elements of sweet, acid, and fat, adding pickled sweet and spicy sultanas and creamy tahini sauce transforms the plate into something truly restaurant-worthy.
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Servings 8

Ingredients
  

Quick Pickled Sultanas

  • 1 cup sultanas or golden raisins
  • ½ cup white wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • ¾ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ¼ teaspoon sumac optional
  • 1 star anise optional
  • water

Tahini Sauce

  • ¾ cup tahini
  • ½ cup water
  • 3 teaspoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Brassicas

  • 1 head broccoli cut into bite sized florets
  • 1 head cauliflower cut into bite sized florets
  • 1 head romesco cut into bite sized florets
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • A few good grinds of black pepper

For garnish

  • whole herbs
  • black sesame seeds
  • flaky salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 475°F

For the sultanas

  • Place the sultanas in a glass jar or bowl. Add ¾ cup water, vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, sumac and anise to a small saucepan and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully pour over the sultanas, submerging them entirely. Allow them to sit at room temperature while you prepare the rest of the dish. (Covered, these will last in the refrigerator for about a month.)

For the tahini sauce

  • Scoop tahini into a medium sized mixing bowl and add ½ cup water. Using a whisk or fork, stir aggressively - the tahini will seize up and get grainy and then relax to a smooth paste. Add honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, salt and olive oil and stir to combine. Taste and adjust - tahini brands vary in bitterness so more or less honey may need to be added to combat this.

For brassicas

  • Put broccoli, cauliflower and romesco into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper, tossing to coat evenly. Spread out on a baking sheet so that there is at least a quarter inch of room between each floret - you will likely need to use more than one - and bake for 10-12 minutes on the bottom rack, until one side is golden brown. Remove from oven and serve on a bed of tahini sauce, sprinkled with sultanas, herbs, sesame seeds and flaky salt. Eat immediately.