Recipe

April 18, 2016

Grilled Broccolini With Taleggio Cream & Hazelnuts

Recipe: Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quinonez Denton, with Stacy Adimando

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Broccolini works surprisingly well on the grill (unlike regular broccoli, which tends to dry out and can take forever to tenderize). You don’t have to peel the stems, and the florets have a moisture and looseness to them that helps them crisp up nicely without disintegrating.

Though you can eat this dish in any season, it is ideal for fall or winter grilling. It’s lighter than a potato gratin — and does not necessarily require using the oven — but has a similar alpine flavor and feel due to the taleggio, a strongly flavored cheese with some solid funkiness that just so happens to melt really well. If you want to give this dish more of a gratin-like finish, plate the grilled broccolini in gratin dishes and broil until the sauce is bubbly and lightly browned, about 2 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound broccolini, trimmed
  • Kosher salt
  • 1  1⁄2 cups heavy cream
  • 6 ounces taleggio cheese, rinds trimmed away, cheese cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • Freshly ground white pepper
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1⁄2 cup toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions

Yield: Serves 4

  1. Prepare a grill to medium-high heat.
  2. Meanwhile, to blanch the broccolini, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and set a large bowl of ice water next to the stove. Divide the broccolini into three bunches and place one bunch into the boiling water. Cook until bright green and slightly tender, about 1 minute; transfer to the ice water. Repeat with the remaining broccolini bunches. Drain and transfer to a towel to dry.
  3. Pour the heavy cream into a small, heavy saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low. Add the taleggio pieces and whisk slowly into the hot cream until melted. Add the nutmeg, then season with salt and white pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
  4. Coat the blanched broccolini with the oil and season with salt. Transfer to the grill, using a grill basket if desired, and cook until the florets begin to char lightly, 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for 1 minute.
  5. To serve, place the broccolini on one large or four small plates. Spoon the taleggio cream over the broccolini, dividing it evenly. Garnish with the chopped hazelnuts.
Photographer:

Photographs copyright © 2016 by Evan Sung. Excerpted by permission of Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. All rights reserved.

Source:

Excerpted from Around the Fire by Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quinonez Denton, with Stacy Adimando. Copyright © 2016 by Ox, LLC.

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