The Best Restaurant-Inspired Recipes for Charred, Flavorful Vegetables

Restaurants make it easy to love vegetables, what with their small-plate dioramas of perfectly cooked heirloom produce lit up with sauces and spices, leaving you satisfied and stupefied: I didn’t know carrots/turnips/eggplants could taste this good.

But what about when you’re cooking at home? To make vegetables really sing, simply using salt and pepper isn’t enough. You have to think like a chef, surrounding produce in high-definition flavors and textures. Fortunately, making irresistible vegetables is easy with these three steps:

1. Blister vegetables in a cast-iron skillet, a technique three times faster than oven roasting.
2. Plate on top of a fat-based sauce.
3. Finish strong with a final layer of flavor.

We’ve developed three vegetable dishes, inspired by Pizzeria Beddia, in Philadelphia, where seasonal crops convene over Caesar dressing, and the recent cookbook Indian-ish, by Priya Krishna, which turned us on to chhonk, in which whole spices are toasted in ghee. Make these vegetables for dinner, and you’ll swear you were eating in a hot new restaurant instead of your kitchen.

Blistered Broccoli With Horseradish-Chive Yogurt and Pistachio Chhonk

Ingredients

For the broccoli

• 2 large heads broccoli, broken up into florets
• Sea salt, for serving

For the chhonk

• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp fennel seed
• 1⁄2 tsp cumin seed
• 1⁄4 tsp ground coriander
• 2 pinches kosher salt
• 1⁄2 cup shelled raw pistachios, roughly chopped

For the yogurt sauce

• 3⁄4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1⁄2 cup sour cream
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• Juice and zest of 1⁄2 lemon
• 1 tsp prepared horseradish
• 1 tbsp minced chives
• 1 pinch kosher salt

Instructions

Char the Broccoli: Heat a 9- to 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add broccoli in an even layer and increase heat to medium. (You may need to do this in two batches.) Weigh down broccoli by placing a second skillet of the same size on top and cook undisturbed for 10 minutes.

Make the Chhonk: Combine all chhonk ingredients except pistachios in a saucepan. Cook over low heat for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Add pistachios and cook for 4 minutes. Reserve warm.

Finish the Dish: Remove top skillet from broccoli and flip each floret; they should be very dark and blistered on one side. Weigh down broccoli with top skillet again and cook for 8 minutes. While broccoli is cooking, make yogurt sauce by whisking all sauce ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Pour sauce onto serving plate and spread out in an even layer. Arrange broccoli over sauce in an even layer. Spoon warm chhonk over broccoli, garnish with a few flakes of sea salt, and serve immediately.

Green Beans With ‘Nduja Romesco and Salmoriglio

Ingredients

For the salmoriglio

• Juice and zest of 1 1⁄2 lemons
• 2 garlic cloves, very thinly shaved
• 1⁄4 loosely packed cup oregano leaves, finely chopped
• 1⁄3 cup loosely packed cup parsley, finely chopped
• 1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Pinch kosher salt

For the beans

• 12 oz green beans, stemmed
• Sea salt, for serving

For the romesco

• 1 garlic clove
• 3 roasted red peppers, drained
• 1⁄4 cup pecans
• 2 oz ’nduja, casing removed
• 1 tsp sherry vinegar
• 1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

Make the Salmoriglio: Combine lemon and garlic in a small mixing bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. Add herbs, olive oil, and salt. Whisk together and reserve.

Char the Beans: Heat a 9- to 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add beans in an even layer and increase heat to medium. (You may need to do this in two batches.) Weigh down beans by placing a second skillet of the same size on top and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes.

Make the Romesco: Combine all romesco ingredients in a food processor and pulse until combined but not completely smooth. Pour romesco onto a serving plate or bowl and spread out in an even layer.

Finish the Dish: Remove top skillet and toss beans; they should be very dark and blistered. Weigh down beans with the top skillet again and cook for 2 minutes. Arrange beans over romesco and drizzle salmoriglio over top. Garnish with a few flakes of sea salt and serve immediately.

Brussels Sprouts With Miso Caesar and Crushed Croutons

Ingredients

For the croutons

• 1⁄2 10-inch baguette or ciabatta, cubed
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1⁄2 tsp garlic powder
• Pinch each kosher salt and black pepper

For the sprouts and dressing

• 12 oz large Brussels sprouts, stemmed and halved lengthwise
• 1 tbsp white miso
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 garlic cloves
• Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
• 1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1⁄4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp whole black peppercorns
• Pinch kosher salt
• Sea salt, for serving

Ingredients

Make the Croutons: Heat oven to 350°F. Toss ingredients together on a quarter sheet pan, making sure bread is evenly coated. Bake croutons 30 minutes, tossing halfway through. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Pulse croutons in a food processor into coarse crumbs and reserve.