Bar Amá’s Broccolini Torrada with Aged Cheddar and Lime

The Mexican-inspired version of bagna cauda has always been on the menu at Bar Amà, chef Josef Centeno and Betty Hallock write in the headnote to the recipe in Amá: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen, from which this is adapted. We reviewed the book in September 2020.

“Torrada” means toasted; here it refers to toasting nuts and garlic in a dry skillet before mixing with anchovies, herbs, chiles, lime zest and juice and olive oil. In the book, Cento calls for homemade Mexican Sriracha, an “essential sauce at Bar Amá," to serve with it. His Mexican Sriracha recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of dried arbol chiles, a cup of sliced shallots, half a cup of fish sauce, and more, to make 1 1/2 cups of sauce that lasts two weeks. We took a short-cut and used regular Sriracha. The dish was excellent and no one was the wiser.

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients

For the torrada

2 tablespoons chopped pecans

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

1 garlic clove

4 anchovy fillets, chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons olive oil

Zest and juice of half a lime

3 dried arbol chiles, stemmed, seeded and chopped

1/8 teaspoon ground coriander

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

Pinch of fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

For the broccolini

3 small or 2 larger bunches broccolini, about 1 1/2 pounds

1 tablespoon olive oil

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons finely grated aged white cheddar cheese

Sriricha for garnish

Instructions

1. To make the torrada, toast the nuts and whole garlic clove in a small, dry skillet until lightly browned and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Put the nuts in a large bowl. Finely chop the garlic and add it to the bowl. Mix in the anchovies, cilantro, olive oil, lime zest and juice, chiles, coriander and cumin. Season with the salt and 2 grinds of black pepper. Set a side.

2. Heat the broiler. Put the broccolini on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil. Season with the salt and few grinds of black pepper. Broil until just tender and the edges are browned, about 10 minutes, tossing once halfway through cooking.

3. Toss the broccolini with the torrada and transfer to a platter. Sprinkle with the cheddar and serve with Sriricha.