Broccolini with Tahini Sauce

By Leite's Culinaria

Ingredients

1/4 cup tahini
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Zest from 1 lemon (preferably organic)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (plus more if needed)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (plus more if needed)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 garlic clove (minced)
1/4 cup ice water (plus more if needed)
Kosher salt
1 pound broccolini (ends trimmed)
2 teaspoons toasted black or white sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Prep Time12mins
Cook Time3mins
Servings4

Instructions

Make the tahini sauce

In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, cumin, and garlic. (Don't worry if the sauce looks clumpy or curdled at this stage.)

Slowly whisk in 1 tablespoon of ice water at a time until the chunky tahini paste magically turns into a creamy sauce. Usually 4 to 5 tablespoons (60 to 74 ml) of ice water will do the trick.

Taste the tahini sauce and adjust with more salt or lemon juice, if desired.

Cook the broccolini

Set a large covered pot of water over high heat, and bring to a rolling boil.

Add a large pinch of salt and carefully drop the broccolini into the boiling water. Cook the broccolini until it turns bright green and becomes tender-crisp, 1 to 3 minutes, depending on the size of the stalks. Transfer the broccolini to a colander to drain.

Arrange the broccolini on a serving platter and spoon the tahini sauce over the top. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and crushed red pepper flakes and serve.