Cast Iron

Spicy, Garlicky Broccoli Sandwich

October  4, 2022
4.3
6 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 2 hungry people
Author Notes

The quantities are intentionally loose here—taste and season as you see fit! The constituent parts are really what matter.

This recipe is inspired in part by No. 7 Subs—which has a recipe for the Broccoli Classic (which includes pine nuts, fried shallots, and "Lychee Muchim") in A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches—and the broccoli sandwich at Boulenc in Oaxaca City. —Sarah Jampel

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 head broccoli
  • Mayonnaise
  • Sriracha
  • 1 lime
  • Smoked paprika
  • Olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into half moons (or sub in an equivalent amount of quick-pickled red onions)
  • 1 very fresh baguette that you're excited to eat
  • Ricotta salata, grated or crumbled
  • Sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
  • Cilantro
Directions
  1. Cut the broccoli into small florets—you want the florets to be small enough to cook quickly on the stovetop and not be cumbersome balanced on a sandwich.
  2. Make the spicy mayonnaise: Squirt or dollop mayonnaise into a small bowl, squeeze Sriracha over top, then add a squeeze of lime juice to thin plus a sprinkle of smoked paprika. Whisk, taste, and adjust accordingly. You'll need enough to spread over the inside of all pieces of bread.
  3. Now cook the broccoli: Over medium-high heat, get a cast-iron pan hot and coat the bottom with olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the broccoli florets. When they're sizzling and seared, flip the florets to brown the other side. Stir them around, checking to make sure they've browned, then cover the pan so that you cook the broccoli all the way through,
  4. If you're using raw red onion instead of pickled (both are good; raw is easier), add the onion slivers and a sprinkle of smoked paprika, then stir and cover for another minute or so, until the onion has softened a bit. Remove the pan from the heat, add the minced garlic, stir so that the garlic cooks in the residual heat of the pan, and squeeze some lime juice over top. Season with salt to taste.
  5. Cut the baguette into sandwich-sized lengths (whatever that means to you and your hunger!), then cut each length down its belly. To build a sandwich, spread both the top and bottom piece of bread with the spicy mayonnaise. Add the ricotta salata, either grated or crumbled, on the bottom bread, then top with broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, and pickled red onions, if using. Sprinkle with torn cilantro leaves and close the sandwich with the top piece of bread. Eat!

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Cheryl
    Cheryl
  • Noreen Fish
    Noreen Fish
  • Sarah Jampel
    Sarah Jampel
  • LULULAND
    LULULAND

6 Reviews

LULULAND March 10, 2020
Sounds good but where is the recipe for ricotta salata?
 
Cheryl April 21, 2017
Delicious! I used Italian bread, hollowed out and broiled on the crust side to crisp it up--and served it open faced. To the dressing, I added some of my previously-made Creamy Garlic Dressing found on this site--which made an incredible spread/sauce. I didn't use cheese but drizzled more dressing on top. I sliced the broccoli stems fine, I sauteed them too. I'm not sure that I needed to brown the broccoli as much as I did; I'd keep that to a minimum next time.
This uses a lot of broccoli, so use a big head for each serving.
 
Cheryl April 21, 2017
Didn't use the sun dried tomatoes either, as I don't care for them.
 
Sarah J. April 22, 2017
So glad you liked it! I love the idea of using the creamy garlic dressing—yum,
 
Noreen F. March 8, 2017
I made this for dinner tonight with a few modifications. I didn't have sub buns so I did them as open faced sandwiches. Used gochujang instead of sriracha and feta in place of the ricotta salata. Delicious!
 
Sarah J. March 8, 2017
So glad you liked it! And I'm happy the gochujang worked—great to know!