Cured Broccoli Salad with Garlic, Sesame, & Cumin

This salad is made from uncooked broccoli tossed with an garlic, sesame, chile, and cumin seed vinaigrette from good extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, and toasted sesame oil. The salt and the acid in the vinegar cooks or cures the florets a little as lime cooks the fish in ceviche. The acid and salt transform the raw broccoli in about an hour. The cured broccoli salad softens as if blanched, turns bright emerald, and soaks up the balanced but zesty flavors of the dressing.

I toss the leftovers with cold soba noodles, additional sesame oil, vinegar, pan fried tofu, and fresh basil, and fresh cilantro for a full meal. Top it with toasted sesame seeds for some additional texture.

You’ll make this a lot. It is a perfect party dish and can be eaten with your fingers. I include this in my menu for every BBQ and casual buffet party I throw.

My good friend Kirsten Richardson Cohen introduced me to this recipe, which I modified from a recipe by Melissa Clark in the New York Times. It serves 4-6 as a side.

Get started by gathering these ingredients

• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

• 2 pounds broccoli florets, cut into bite-size portions

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon fermented garlic or 4 fat garlic cloves, minced

• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, roughly crushed with mortar & pestle or whole

• 1.5 tablespoon toasted (Asian) sesame oil

• Large pinch crushed red pepper flakes

In a large bowl, stir together the vinegar and salt. Add broccoli and toss to combine.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil until hot, but not smoking. Add garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in sesame oil and pepper flakes. Pour mixture over broccoli and toss well. Let sit for at least 1 hour at room temperature, and up to 48 (chill it if you want to keep it for more than 2 hours). Adjust seasonings (it may need more salt) and serve.

Buen provecho, bon appetit, and dig in!