It’s January, let’s start this year fresh and healthy! What better way than with this broccoli salad? It’s crisp, crunchy, super healthy and ready in a heartbeat.
This is the only salad my kids will eat (shhh… don’t tell them this is a salad otherwise they won’t touch it). Broccoli is one of the few veggies they eat without putting up a fight (oh and carrots, and cucumber.. oh and tomatoes.. I guess it’s not so bad after all. But broccoli is the one thing they both really like).
Is broccoli salad made with raw broccoli?
Yes, it is. It doesn’t taste raw though. Since the broccoli is chopped up into very small pieces and the dressing breaks down the broccoli a bit.
I sometimes quickly blanch the broccoli florets (1 minutes and rinse with ice water afterwards) to get them a tiny bit softer. The kids prefer it that way. Or sometimes I just cook some florets for them separately and keep the rest raw. This way everybody is happy.
When do you eat broccoli salad?
I eat a big bowl of this as a light dinner or you can serve it as a side (to Hungarian goulash or lentil bolognese for example). It is also totally potluck friendly and great as a take-to-the-office-lunch or pack it in your kid’s lunchbox!
We love this broccoli salad so much (shhh… don’t called it a salad!). I am packing it to go watch the sunset on the beach later this afternoon. We hope you will love it too. It is
crunchy – both savory and sweet – super healthy – versatile – easily packable – & so delicious
If you like this broccoli salad, you love my gado gado as well just as my family friendly Niçoise salad and wild rice, roasted sweet potato and kale salad as well. Love broccoli? What about this broccoli and chicken coconut popcorn?
Broccoli salad
Ingredients
Broccoli salad
- ¾ cup quinoa (uncooked)
- 1¼ cup water
- ½ cup almonds (slivered or sliced)
- 1½ lb broccoli (=700 gr)(or 1 lb/500gr cleaned and shredded brocolli)
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- ⅓ cup fresh basil leaves (chopped)
Dressing
- ½ cup extra virgen olive oil
- 1-2 oranges (you'll need 3-4 tbsp of juice and 1 tbsp of zest)
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or sub lemon or lime juice)
- 1 tbsp honey (you can leave it out if vegan or you don't like too much sweetness)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1 tbsp ginger (minced)(optional)
Instructions
Salad
- Cook the quinoa: first, rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander under running water. Combine the rinsed quinoa and 1 ¼ cups water in a medium-sized pot. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat and gently simmer the quinoa until it has absorbed all of the water. Remove the quinoa from heat, cover the pot and let it rest for 5 minutes. Uncover and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set it aside to cool off.
- In the meantime toast the almonds: in a small skillet toast the almonds over medium heat, stirring frequently until they are fragrant and starting to turn golden (about 5 to 7 minutes). Set aside to cool off.
- Prepare the broccoli: slice the florets off the stems into small pieces. Now shred the broccoli florets by hand with a sharp knife.
- Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a tall measuring cup and whisk until emulsified. The dressing should be a bit tangy and pack a punch. If it’s overwhelmingly acidic, add (a bit more) honey to balance out the flavors. If it needs more kick, add a bit more mustard or lemon juice.
- Add the shredded broccoli slaw, cooked quinoa, almonds, sunflower seeds, cranberries and chopped basil to a large serving bowl. Pour the dressing over the mixture and toss until well mixed. Preferably let the slaw rest for 15-20 minutes to let the flavors meld.
Notes
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