Charred Broccolini with Miso Butter
Blackened stems turned through butter mashed with white miso, which melts down the stalks and sets to a glaze.
Why it works
Miso is full of sugar and protein and turns bitter in a hot basket within a minute, so it goes on at the end, off the heat, where the warmth of the broccolini melts it into a sauce that clings. Mashing it into softened butter, rather than into melted butter, keeps the mixture emulsified, so it coats every stem instead of splitting into oil and paste.
Method
- Heat the air fryer to 200°C (400°F). Toss the broccolini with the oil until every stem is coated, then tip it into the basket in a loose layer.
- Air fry for 8 minutes, shaking the basket hard at 4 minutes.
- While the basket runs, mash the softened butter with the miso, vinegar and garlic in a wide serving bowl, working it with a fork until it is one smooth paste with no pale streaks left.
- It is done when the floret tips are properly black in places, the stems deep green and slack, and a knife meets slight resistance in the thickest stalk. Tip it hot into the bowl and turn it until the butter has melted and pooled. The butter goes on now, never in the basket, where the miso would scorch.
- Scatter with sesame seeds and spring onion, and carry it out in the four minutes a grilled fish or steak needs to rest.
For the toddler
Lift a few stems out as the basket comes out, before anything meets the miso butter — the miso is where the salt sits. Turn theirs in a knob of plain butter instead. Split thick stalks lengthways so nothing is round, cut them to finger lengths, and chop the florets small. Keep the sesame seeds for the adults' bowl. A quarter of an adult serving.
How the toddler notes workChef’s notes
Purple sprouting broccoli or thick asparagus on the same timer. Red miso makes a deeper, saltier butter — use two teaspoons, not a tablespoon.
Mash the miso butter while the fryer heats, or make it days ahead and keep it wrapped in the fridge — worth doubling.
Grilled salmon or mackerel, rice with a fried egg, or steak seasoned with nothing but salt.
Keeps 2 days chilled. Chop it and fold it through noodles or cold rice, where the set butter loosens as it warms.