This salad is best served at room temperature when the broccolini and peas are cooked and cooled.
8 stems broccolini stems, left whole
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup frozen peas
¼ cup sunflower seeds, toasted
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
¼ cup breadcrumbs, toasted in a little olive oil – I used leftover rye breadcrumbs but Panko would also work well
50g (approx) grated haloumi or crumbled feta or slithers of parmesan
Handful of chopped mint leaves
In a large bowl, combine the broccolini stems and olive oil. Mix together until stems are coated well in the oil. Heat a griddle pan or BBQ grill to high heat and once hot, char-grill the stems of broccolini briefly until slightly coloured. You want the broccolini to stay firm, not go soft so don’t leave it on too long. Remove from heat and set aside to cool while you blanch the peas.
Fill a medium bowl with ice cold water. Set aside. Heat a small pot of water to boiling. Once the water is boiling rapidly add frozen peas and boil for 1 ½ minutes. Remove from heat, drain the peas in a colander and immediately immerse in the bowl of ice cold water. Leave for a couple of minutes until peas have cooled completely. Drain again in the colander.
To serve, arrange the broccolini stems on a medium to large size platter, overlapping them. Top with the cooled peas, followed by the chopped mint leaves. Mix together the toasted sunflower and sesame seeds and toasted breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the seed mix over the greens and finish with the grated or crumbled cheese of your choice.
Serves 2 as a side.
