Grilled Broccoli & Courgettes w Butterbean Dip & Crispy Onions

Zingy tahini & butter bean dip with roasted courgettes, crunchy kale, chillies and broccoli spears topped with crispy onions and toasted sesame seeds.

A lovely side, starter or weekday dinner.

Makes a lovely AHEAD LUNCH BOWL

• simply serve with a grain of choice &
• a simple make ahead Rainbow Slaw 

Its summer! Wow what a wonderful few days of amazing weather in Cape Town and this dish is exactly the type of food I want to eat when it’s hot outside and I crave something that I can eat warmed or at room temperature.

I love broccoli spears (also called broccolini) as I feel its got a lot more flavour than normal broccoli. To add colour to the dish I used a combination of green and yellow courgettes, did you know yellow courgettes are called patty pans (how cute?) in South Africa.

The butterbean dip is such a versatile dip to have and I love it spread liberally, over some toasted ciabatta and roasted cherry tomatoes.

Such a stunner of a dish – hope you get to make it!

Seasonal Swaps: You can use a normal head of broccoli, cauliflower and green beans instead of broccoli spears or courgettes. I prefer to use Tuscan Kale (also called cavalo nero) but you can use any curly kale. You can use cannelini beans instead of butter beans.

Serves 4

This dish would be lovely as a mezze platter along with a few salads and focaccia. A good chilli oil would also be fantastic drizzled over the veggies.

Three baking trays.

• 150g broccoli spears
• 350g mix of courgettes, sliced lengthways into thickish slices
• 200g Tuscan kale or curly kale
• 2 red chillies, halved
• 1 large white onion, finely sliced
• sunflower oil to fry the onions
• 4 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted (opt)
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• salt & pepper
• olive oil

Butterbean Dip

• 1 x 400g tin butterbeans
• 4 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• zest & juice of 1 small lemon
• 2 tablespoons water (maybe more)
• salt & pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200c.
2. Separate the chillies, courgettes and broccoli onto two baking trays, making sure the veggies are laying in a single layer (no overlapping). Add the kale to a separate baking tray and drizzle the veggies generously with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.
3. Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, removing the kale after 8-10 minutes or until the kale is soft and starting to crisp up. You might need to remove the chillies at this stage too.
4. After 20 minutes, crack the heat up to 220c and roast the veggies for a further 10 minutes or until golden, keeping an eye on the chillies. Remove
5. While the veggies are roasting add enough sunflower oil to a small saucepan to come up about 5cm to the sides. Heat to a medium-hot temperature, to check if oil is hot enough for frying, add a small piece of onion to the saucepan, if it sizzles vigorously the oil is ready. Add the onions in two batches to the oil and fry until golden, keeping your eye on the onions at all time. It will take between 8-10minutes. Once golden, remove the onions with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towel. Season with salt & pepper and continue with the second batch. The onions will crisp up slightly once cooled.
6. For the dip add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice if needed. Feel free to add a tablespoon of water more if the dip is not spreadable.
7. To serve: spread the dip on a large pretty plate, scatter the roasted veg and crispy kale on top followed by the toasted sesame seeds, lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice. Finally add the onions and serve warm or at room temperature.