Although author Tamasin Day-Lewis teams her grilled broccoli or broccolini (pictured) with a robust romesco sauce, we omitted that part of the equation, so woo’d are we by the sheer and simple genius of grilling or griddling crucifers with a little olive oil, chile, and garlic. If you don’t have a grill, she says you can come close by blasting the blanched broccoli in a hot oven. You won’t achieve quite the same smokey flavor, but you can come close. As she says, “Still good, just different.”–LC Editors
Grilled Broccoli Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 heads of broccoli, broken into florets, or 3/4 to 1 pound broccolini, ends trimmed
- 3 to 4 tablespoons good, fruity olive oil
- 1 green chile, minced, or 1 teaspoon dried red chile flakes
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and thinly sliced
- Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- 1. To make the grilled broccoli, throw the florets, or broccolini if using, into a large pan of rapidly boiling, salted water and blanch for 2 minutes. Immediately drain in a colander and refresh with cold water to arrest the cooking process and retain the color. Drain well.
- 2. Heat up the grill. Dry the florets with paper towels, then put them in a bowl. Pour over 2 tablespoons olive oil and toss with your hands to coat the florets. Sprinkle with the chile.
- 3. When the grill is really hot, lay the vegetables on it, leaving room in between them to grasp them with tongs. Cook until they have scorch marks, then turn them and repeat. Spear the grilled broccoli with a skewer to check when they are tender. Remove from the heat.
- 4. Meanwhile, heat another 1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil very slowly in a small pan with the garlic and remove from the heat the moment it is hot. Place the grilled broccoli in a serving bowl, pour the warm garlicky oil over the top, and season with salt and pepper.
Hungry for more? Chow down on these:
- Broccoli Rabe with Garlic from Elana's Pantry
- Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Raisins from Pinch my Salt
- Broccoli and Stilton Soup from Leite's Culinaria
- Cavatelli with Turkey Sausage, Tomato, and Broccoli Rabe from Leite's Culinaria
Grilled Broccoli Recipe © 2010 Tamasin Day-Lewis. Photo © 2010 James Merrell. All rights reserved.


[Brenda Carleton] The broccoli remained lovely and crisp and became slightly charred on the grill. That char gets me every time! This recipe isn’t exactly special or extraordinary – just plain simple and good. Both the chile and garlic oil were sufficient for rounding out the flavour. It is a pleasure to add this to my “make again” list!