Hummus-stuffed broccoli with charred red pepper pesto

A plant-based main worth cooking properly. Charred broccoli steaks layered with garlic-parsley hummus, served on a butternut and coriander puree, finished with a charred red pepper pesto and sautéed asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and shimeji mushrooms. Toasted pumpkin seeds on top. Serves four. About an hour and a quarter, with overlap.

Why this recipe

We get asked, often, what good vegan cooking looks like in the bush. This is the dish we point people to. It comes from a lodge kitchen in the Timbavati where the chef has spent years working out how to feed plant-based guests properly. The brief was simple. A main course that holds its own without animal protein. No imitation meat. No cheese substitutes. Real cooking.

This is the home version. We have made it on safari and in a London kitchen. It works in both.

If you cook it well, it eats like a proper restaurant plate. The contrast between the smoky charred broccoli, the cool herby hummus, the silky butternut, and the sweet smokiness of the pepper pesto is the point.

Serves 4. About 1 hour 15 minutes, with overlap.

For the broccoli

• 1 large head of broccoli
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp olive oil
• ½ tsp Cajun spice
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• A pinch of salt and pepper

Cut the broccoli vertically into four roughly equal steaks, keeping a section of stalk on each so they hold together. Whisk the paprika, olive oil, Cajun spice, garlic, salt and pepper together in a wide bowl. Lay the steaks in and turn to coat. Leave to marinate while you make the rest.

For the hummus

• 1 tin chickpeas, drained
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 tsp roasted garlic
• A pinch of salt and pepper, to taste
• 100 ml olive oil
• A small bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

Put the chickpeas, lemon juice, roasted garlic, salt and pepper into a blender and pulse to a rough paste. With the motor running, slowly stream in the olive oil until you have a smooth, firm hummus. Add the parsley and pulse once more to combine. Set aside.

For the butternut puree

• 1 medium butternut, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
• 2 tsp vegetable stock powder (or 250 ml made-up vegetable stock)
• 80 g coconut butter or vegan margarine
• A small bunch of coriander, chopped
• A pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 tsp soy sauce

Put the butternut into a small saucepan with the vegetable stock and just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer until completely tender, about 15 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid. Add the coconut butter and let it melt into the hot butternut, then whisk in the soy sauce, coriander, salt and pepper. Whisk hard until smooth. Keep warm.

For the red pepper pesto

• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 green pepper
• A small knob of fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove
• Juice of half a lemon
• A small bunch of basil
• 80 ml olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Char the peppers directly over the flame of a gas hob, turning until the skins are blackened on all sides. (No gas: do this under a hot grill instead.) Drop the peppers into a bowl and cover tightly with cling film. Let them sweat for about 20 minutes. The skins will lift off cleanly under cold running water. Pat the peppers dry and put them in a tall, narrow blending jug. Add the ginger, garlic, lemon juice, basil, salt and pepper. Blend with a stick blender, slowly streaming in the olive oil so the sauce emulsifies. You want a glossy, pourable pesto.

For the vegetables

• 1 bunch asparagus, woody ends snapped off
• Half a punnet of cherry tomatoes
• 50 g coconut butter or vegan margarine
• 1 punnet shimeji mushrooms, base trimmed
• A pinch of salt and pepper
• 50 g toasted pumpkin seeds, to finish

Melt the coconut butter in a wide frying pan over a medium-high heat. Flash fry the asparagus and cherry tomatoes for two minutes. Add the shimeji mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook for another minute or two, until the asparagus has bite and the tomatoes are just collapsing.

Cooking the broccoli

Heat a heavy skillet over a medium flame until hot but not smoking. Lay the marinated broccoli steaks in the pan. Cover them with an upturned stainless steel bowl (or a heavy lid) so the steaks steam as they sear. After two minutes, flip each steak and replace the bowl for another two minutes. The steaks should be tender at the stalk and well charred on both sides.

Take two steaks, sandwich a generous spoon of hummus between them, and top with a third steak. Set aside to rest. Reheat gently before plating.

To plate

Smear the butternut puree across one side of the plate with the back of a spoon. Slice each broccoli stack diagonally and lay it on the puree. Arrange the asparagus, tomatoes and mushrooms around the broccoli. Drizzle the pesto over the broccoli and across the plate. Scatter the toasted pumpkin seeds. Microgreens if you have them.

Serve immediately.

Notes

• The hummus and pesto can be made a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge. Bring them to room temperature before serving.
• The puree holds well in a warm oven for half an hour. Whisk in a splash of water if it tightens up.
• The broccoli is the only thing that has to be done last minute. Time everything else around it.

Eating it on safari

The dish travels well. We have served it as a sit-down main on a private bush dinner and as a lunch course back at camp after a morning drive. Most lodge kitchens we work with will cook it on request if you give them notice. Tell us during planning and we will brief the camp.

Start with a conversation

Tell us when you want to travel and how plant-based the group is. We come back with a shortlist of lodges whose kitchens cook this kind of food properly, and a draft week of meals before you commit.