Two New Sides: Roasted Broccoli Salad + Artichokes with Bagna Cauda

Bonus recipes by request! (and how to serve them)

Hello dear ones!

I have not just one but two new bonus recipes for you today. Both were requests from paid subscribers (one of the benefits of being a paid subscriber is that you get to request recipes that I develop here).

The first request was for an easy roasted broccoli salad, which I showed in my Instagram stories. The recipe came about one night when I was craving an upgrade to regular old roasted broccoli. It combines richly caramelized florets with crunchy sugar snap or snow peas, spicy arugula, a zippy lemon and fish sauce vinaigrette, and roasted cashews. The combination of the slightly bitter broccoli with the sweet peas and bright, umami-sparked vinaigrette is so good. The salad was an instant hit, and I’ve made it several times since. We love to pair it with miso glazed salmon and sushi rice for dinner, or pile it over whole grains for lunch.

The second request came in response to last week’s podcast episode about spring cooking with Ali Slagle. In the episode I described my favorite way to serve artichokes, which is with bagna cauda for dipping. If you’re not familiar, bagna cauda is an insanely delicious Italian sauce of olive oil, garlic and anchovies. I also throw in a generous amount of grated parmesan cheese, a bit of butter (because butter + artichokes = nirvana), and a splash of lemon juice to wake everything up. The sauce has a rich umami flavor from the anchovies (which are not overpowering at all—even my kids love the sauce), and the cheese makes it taste like garlic bread in a strange, delectable way. I often serve the artichokes as an appetizer, and they’re also a lovely side dish or even main course. 

The Best of Spring Cooking with Ali Slagle