FOR BROCCOLI

1. Trim any thick woody ends off the broccoli and use a vegetable peeler to peel away the outer most layer of the stemmy part of the stalk so they’re all relatively similar in size // thickness.
2. Bring a large pot of salt water to a boil and preheat oven to broil on high.
3. Add broccoli to the boiling water and cooking for 3 minutes (less if they’re very thin stalks). Remove to a colander and run cold water over them or immerse in an ice bath immediately to stop the cooking.
4. Thoroughly pat dry using paper towels (or a dish towel that is not white! Mine was stained purple from this step).
5. Drizzle with avocado oil and a few big pinches of sea salt and toss to coat.
6. Line up on a parchment lined baking sheet, being careful not to crowd the pan (you can always do the broiling in two batches if necessary – if you cook the broccoli too close together it will steam instead of char).
7. Broil on high for 4 minutes.
8. Flip and broil on the other side for about another 3 minutes, until very hot and charred on the edges.
9. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.

for tahini sauce

1. While broccoli is cooking // cooling, make the tahini sauce.

2. Whisk together tahini, grated garlic, lemon juice, zest, white wine vinegar and maple syrup. The mixture will be very thick at this point. Thin by whisking in water about 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach the consistency of thin yogurt. Stir in chopped basil and capers and season with more salt + lemon if desired.

for assembly

Plate a few spears of broccoli on serving plate, drizzle with tahini sauce, and garnish with toasted sunflower seeds, a few pieces of fresh basil and a bit of flaky sea salt and serve!