Blanching the herbs and refreshing in iced water sets their colour to give you a lovely pale green herb oil.
Ingredients
| 2 large handfuls | Fresh herbs, parsley, basil, mint |
| 1 | Garlic clove, crushed |
| ½ cup | Olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons |
| 1 pinch | Sea salt and cracked black pepper |
| 80 g | Pancetta, thinly sliced |
| 250 g | Sweet stem broccoli, lightly trimmed (Main) |
| 14 | Asparagus spears, lightly trimmed (Main) |
| 150 g | Bocconcini |
| ¼ cup | Pine nuts, toasted |
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Directions
- Make the herb oil, blanch the herbs in boiling water until they turn bright green – a few seconds. Drain and plunge straight into iced water. Drain and squeeze to remove excess water.
- Place in the bowl of a small food processor (or you can use a hand-held blender) with the garlic and oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Process until you have a smooth mixture, then set aside. Before using, strain through a fine sieve.
- Meanwhile, heat a barbecue grill until hot. Place the pancetta on the grill and grill until crisp turning once. Remove and drain on kitchen paper, set aside. Place the sweet stem broccoli and asparagus spears on a large plate and drizzle over 2 tablespoons olive oil and season. Rub well to cover each stem and spear. Place the sweet stem broccoli on the hot grill and grill, turning regularly for about 5 minutes or cooked until your liking. Turn grill down if charring too quickly. Place on the asparagus spears and grill until just tender, 2-3 minutes. Thicker spears will take a little longer.
- Break up the bocconcini into smaller pieces and place in a shallow serving bowl. Top with the charred sweet stem broccoli and asparagus. Roughly chop or break up the pancetta and scatter over along with the pine nuts. Drizzle with the herb oil.
- Serve with crusty bread.
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