Rachel Khoo: utterly broccoli

I recently had the pleasure of lunching at The Ledbury, one of London’s landmark restaurants.

Many of the dishes were memorable, but the one that impressed me featured a slender broccoli stalk, trimmed delicately and displayed to showcase its miniature tree-like form. Broccoli stems are often trimmed right up to the head, discarding what is the most flavoursome part.

This salad is a celebration of stalks, which, when paired with a spicy and sweet satay dressing, make for a magnificent springtime dish.

Broccoli Stem & Smoked Tofu Salad with Spicy Satay dressing

Serves 2 as a main, or 4 as a starter

260g broccoli (1 broccoli head or tender stem or purple sprouting)
50g peas
Two large handfuls of pea shoots
200g smoked tofu or smoked chicken, cut into 1cm cubes

For the spicy satay dressing:

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped, plus some for garnish
3 tbsp coconut milk
100g peanut butter
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Cut the broccoli into florets, separating the heads from the stalks, and blanch the stalks in salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes (if using big stalks), 2 minutes for tender stem.

Throw the heads in the water for the last minute along with the peas. Drain, and cool in ice-cold water.

For the dressing, heat the oil in a small saucepan, throw in the chilli and cook on a medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the coconut milk and peanut butter and stir well until smooth. Take off the heat, add the rice wine vinegar, honey, lime juice and fish sauce.

If the sauce is too thick, add a dash of water. To assemble the salad, place the pea shoots on a plate and add the broccoli, peas and tofu or chicken.

Dress with the spicy satay dressing and sprinkle with the sesame seeds and chilli.