Purple sprouting broccoli with skordalia

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Ingredients

550 g purple sprouting broccoli (or Tenderstem broccoli), leaves and woody ends trimmed
1 kg large potatoes
1 garlic head
1⁄3 cup olive oil, plus extra for serving
sea salt and white pepper, to taste
1 medium red chilli, thinly sliced at an angle
3 shaved lemon peel long strips
1½ T lemon juice
1 lemon, quartered, for serving

Cooking Instructions

Preheat the oven to 220°C.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the broccoli. Blanch for 3–4 minutes, until cooked but still retaining a bite. Refresh under cold water, then drain and set aside to dry.

Arrange the potatoes, unpeeled, on a large baking tray. Slice off the top quarter of the garlic horizontally. Discard the top and wrap the exposed head in foil with 1 T olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place alongside the potatoes and roast for about 45 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through and the garlic cloves are completely soft.

Place the chilli in a small saucepan with the lemon peel and remaining olive oil. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the chilli has taken on some colour, then set aside to cool. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chilli and lemon peel, discarding the peel but keeping the chilli and oil, separately.

Peel the warm potatoes and press them through a potato ricer – twice if you want it completely smooth – or use a masher, and place in a saucepan. Unwrap the garlic and squeeze out the cooked cloves, adding them to the mash. Whisk the mash well over a medium heat while you pour in all but 1 T of the strained chilli oil, along with the lemon juice, 3 T water, 1½ t salt and ½ t pepper. Whisk until smooth and silky – you might need to add a tablespoon or two more of water to the mash if it is still too thick – then cook for another minute, stirring constantly with a spoon. Set aside somewhere warm until ready to serve.

Place a ridged griddle pan over a high heat. Toss the cooked broccoli with the remaining chilli oil, along with a pinch of salt. When the pan is hot, add the broccoli and grill in batches for 3 minutes, until the stems start to colour.

Divide the mash between the plates and top with the broccoli. Sprinkle over the fried chilli and serve at once, with a final drizzle of oil and a wedge of lemon.

Cook's note: “This was a hit when it first appeared on the menu at NOPI. It was winter, the sky was grey and this was the dish to lift the spirits. Garlicky, smooth and silky olive oil-mashed potato is called skordalia in Greece. It’s almost a synonym for comfort food.”

This recipe appears in NOPI: THE COOKBOOK by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully. Food photography copyright Jonathan Lovekin 2015. Reproduced with permission from Ebury Press.