Why It Works
- Adding anchovy paste, garlic, and lemon zest to breadcrumbs creates an instantly recognizable Caesar flavor profile.
- Adding the lemon zest to the breadcrumbs off heat helps the zest retain its fresh flavor.
- Adding additional lemon zest to the broccoli further increases the bright flavor of the finished dish.
My family has a motto we frequently apply to our weeknight dinner routine: “When in doubt, roast some broccoli.” It’s the one vegetable side dish that all four of us are sure to eat—even my picky five year old. And it’s fairly easy to understand why: Roasted broccoli ticks all the boxes for a great vegetable side dish: It’s simple to prepare, delicious, and nutritious. But as my family’s resident home chef (and a former professional chef), what I like best about roasted broccoli is how easy it is to dress it up with a variety of ingredients and flavor profiles, avoiding the same boring side dish night after night.
One of my favorite ways to liven up broccoli is by incorporating the salty, briny, umami-rich flavor profile of a classic Caesar dressing. But instead of just glopping on the actual dressing, I incorporate the classic Caesar dressing ingredients—anchovies, garlic, and lemon—into a crunchy savory breadcrumb topping. It’s fairly simple to make: It takes just a couple minutes to toast the breadcrumbs with a generous amount of butter, anchovy paste, and garlic. I then stir in a touch of lemon zest off heat to retain its fresh flavor, and season it to taste with salt. If you’re forward thinking (which admittedly, I am not) you can even make the breadcrumbs a few days in advance.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
Preparing the broccoli is pretty straight forward. Whether you roast it in the oven or in your air fryer, the results are similar: the super-high heat quickly caramelizes the exterior florets, producing sweet, nutty flavors and a crisp exterior that contrasts nicely with the tender interior. I’ve included directions for both oven roasted broccoli and air-fryer broccoli in the full recipe below, so choose whichever method works best for you.
To finish building the Caesar flavor profile, once the broccoli is roasted, toss it with additional lemon zest for a final boost of bright citrus flavor, and top it with the prepared crunchy, savory breadcrumbs. Finish Caesaring (yes, I embrace “Caesar” as a verb now) the broccoli with a generous sprinkle of nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
This recipe draws is adapted from Marianne Williams’ crispy air-fryer broccoli and Kenji López-Alt’s oven-roasted broccoli recipes.
