Summertime means lots of fresh vegetables and salad. I try not to make only lettuce based salads, though, and broccoli salad is a favorite at our house. Watch for more vegetable salads in the future!
Broccoli salad is so easy to make. I don’t grow my own broccoli – it always seems to be eaten by bugs and it’s so inexpensive in the summer. Use either a bag of broccoli florets or buy heads and divide the florets us, do a quick blanch to soften slightly, and keep that bright green color, and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Quick, healthy and inexpensive …. my kind of side for a meal. And it’s got bacon!
So boil some water, and drop in the florets just for 30-60 seconds. Then put in ice water to stop the cooking and cool it quickly. We need some crunch left in it! I spread out on a kitchen towel to dry it, but a colander or mesh strainer could work as well.
In another bowl mix up the ingredients for the dressing, then toss in the florets and the rest of the salad ingredients, and mix well. The raisins add a slightly sweetness. Adding in shredded carrots will also increase the sweetness. Add in cauliflower florets for green and white salad, or some sliced up green onions/scallions to make it more tart.
I use less bacon if I have thick-sliced, or a couple more slices if it’s regular thin sliced bacon. Add as much as you want – half a pound anyone? Or try crisping up some pancetta instead.
Done! Salad is served. And if you have a mixing bowl with a lid, you can stick right in the fridge until serving.
Fox Pines Broccoli Salad
A quick healthy salad that's a bit sweet – evenkids will eat their broccoli!
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1 cup Mayo
- ¼ cup apple vinegar cider
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ½ tsp tarragon fresh or dried
- ½ tsp celery salt
- Pepper to taste
- ¼ cup sugar/Monk fruit
- 1 tbsp orange zest freshly grated if possible
Salad:
- ¼ cup raisins
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- 4/6 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled
- 2 heads of broccoli divided into florets, or 1 bag of broccoli florets trimmed into bite-size pieces
- Optional: diced green onions, shredded carrots, cauliflower florets
Instructions
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Mix together all dressing ingredients in a large bowl.
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Add in the salad ingredients and any option vegetables you want to include.
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Toss well.
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Best if left to sit for a couple hours for flavors to blend.
I buy flour sack kitchen towels in bulk – perfect for drying vegetables or rolling up sponges cakes. No lint!