Pecorino Fried Bread with Broccoli

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From Cooking.NYtimes.com: Katherine Youngblood, the chef de cuisine at Lot 2 in Brooklyn, sautées heirloom broccoli with garlic, chile flakes, anchovy and plenty of lemon, and serves it heaped on olive oil-fried bread showered with pecorino. The oily crunch of the bread, the saltiness of the cheese and the sweetness of the broccoli combine into something that, had it not been for my sense of propriety, would have had me licking the plate. I made a few minor edits while testing the recipe, taking down the olive oil by just a bit and streamlining the method. The result is a wonderful melding of simple ingredients and techniques that is easy to replicate at home, whenever the craving strikes.


½ pound broccoli di ciccio, broccolette or regular broccoli
4 garlic cloves
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 (1-inch thick) slices day-old pain au levain or rustic white bread
6 anchovies, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon chile flakes
Juice and finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
Salt, to taste
½ cup grated pecorino Romano cheese (parmesan of any sort really)


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. If using regular broccoli, cut into 2-inch pieces. Trim broccoli di ciccio or broccolette but leave whole. Blanch broccoli until bright green and just tender, about 1 minute. Transfer to ice water to cool. Let drain and squeeze out extra moisture. Roughly chop broccoli into bite-size pieces. NOTE: I steamed it briefly instead of doing this but make sure throughout all steps that you're not overcooking the broccoli so that it looses it's bright green - that's what the ice bath is for. You want it just tender but still nice and bright green.

Mince 3 garlic cloves and halve the remaining one.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high until hot but not smoking. Fry 2 pieces of bread until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Set bread aside. Repeat with 2 more tablespoons olive oil and remaining bread.

Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet. Add minced garlic, the anchovies and chile flakes, and cook for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add broccoli and heat until warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in lemon juice and zest and a pinch of salt, or to taste.

Rub fried bread with garlic clove halves and sprinkle with some of the cheese. Place broccoli on top of bread and garnish with more cheese. (I had quite finely shredded parmesan so I mixed it in with the mixture).

I thought it was delicious!!!! Maybe my favourite recipe I've tried all year.

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