Table of Contents for broccoli salad
Ingredients for broccoli salad
How to make
Preparation Video
FAQ
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Recipe Video
The perfect broccoli salad: bright green and crisp-tender!
Broccoli salad with perfect bright green and crisp-tender broccoli and delicious salad dressing? In fact that is exactly what you will get making this recipe. Moreover it contains perfectly cooked broccoli (check my step by step guide for cooking broccoli here), crunchy croutons, fresh vegetables and extremely tasty dressing.
In brief I am using kohlrabi, capsicum and cucumbers in this recipe. They are all very crisp-tender and add a lot of crunchiness to slightly tender broccoli. Cucumber and capsicum are perfect to add. They contain a lot of water and give a salad a very refreshing texture. Of course most of the broccoli salads contain nuts and dried fruit – however I like to use croutons instead of them.
Croutons are crunchy and very filling. At the same time they do not contain as many calories as nuts, so you get a salad that is very filling, but surprisingly is lower in calories. As I have said I like to use whole wheat bread for croutons, but any kind of bread would work. Without a doubt whole wheat bread has the advantage of containing a lot of fiber and that is why eating it, you feel full for a longer period of time. Except for this it contains more nutrients and vitamin B.
The best thing about this recipe is the dressing. Usually a dressing contains mayonnaise and sugar. Obviously to keep this salad as healthy as possible, I am not using any mayonnaise and refined sugar. Furthermore I am using a mix of miso paste with lime and maple syrup. This way the dressing turns very unique and does not dominate the taste of broccoli and other vegetables in this dish. In brief I recommend preparing the dressing first: it will have enough time to develop while you are cooking broccoli, baking croutons and cutting vegetables. In conclusion it is very important to add croutons as the last ingredient to the salad. Add all the vegetables, pour the dressing and only then add croutons. This way the salad would preserve its crunchiness.
If you love broccoli and want to know how to cook perfect broccoli, check my recipe here. Want to eat healthy and do not know where to start? What about delicious brussel sprouts salad – crunchy, full of flavor and very filling. Or protein salad – it will take around 10 minutes to make it and you will get a healthy dinner or lunch full of vegetables, leafy greens with unique combinations of fruits and feta cheese. And the best of course is delicious dressing – creamy, salty and sweet. Perfect to underline the vegetables and feta taste.
How to prepare broccoli salad?
Ingredients
- 600 g broccoli florets
- ice crushed ice or ice cubes – optional
- 1 tsp salt
Croutons:
- 130 g whole wheat bread cut into cubes
- 1 tsp oregano
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp coriander
- ⅓ teaspoon salt
- 8 g oil
Vegetables:
- 150 g kohlrabi
- 150 g cucumbers
- 200 g capsicum
- 600 g broccoli florets
- 10 g green onions
Dressing
- 35 g miso paste
- 90 g hot water 40-50 degrees
- 50 g maple syrup
- 25 g soy sauce
- 25 g lime juice
- 25 g rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chili pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
Instructions
Prepare the dressing first, so it can develop its taste.
- Mix 35 g of miso paste and 90 g of hot water (around 40-50 C / 105 F). Stir until the paste dissolves. Add 50 g of maple syrup, 25 g of soy sauce, 25 g of lime juice, 25 g of rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon of chili pepper and 3 cloves of garlic (cut into small pieces).
- Prepare broccoli: cook 600 g of broccoli florets according to my recipe: The best way of cooking broccoli
Prepare croutons:
- Mix 1 tsp oregano, ½ tsp paprika, ½ tsp coriander, ⅓ teaspoon of salt and 8 g of oil. Cut 130 g of bread into pieces. Add spices-oil mix to bread.
- Bake at 180 C / 355 F for 10 minutes (until lightly browned).
Prepare veggies for the salad:
- peel and cut 150 g kohlrabi, 150 g cucumbers, 200 g capsicum into cubes.
- Mix vegetables, season with sauce and add croutons.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Top health benefits and facts
Yes, a broccoli salad can be made ahead of time. You can cook broccoli, cut all the vegetables, prepare the dressing and bake croutons. But mix the salad and add the dressing before eating. This is the best way to prepare the salad in advance and still enjoy a perfect taste without ingredients getting mushy.
Cook broccoli according to instructions, cut vegetables and add some nuts, dried fruit and dressing. I like to use croutons instead of nuts.
A broccoli salad can last up to 3 days. Cut the ingredients and store them in separate air-tight containers. Mix the dressing and store it in a separate container. Mix all the ingredients before eating, add croutons and pour the dressing over the salad. Do not mix the ingredients and store them mixed in the fridge – the salad would become mushy. Mix and add the dressing only before eating.
You can serve broccoli salad as a main dish or as a side dish.
1) As a side dish broccoli salad works perfectly with grains, legumes, and tofu. You can cook any grains you like (quinoa, bulgur, couscous, rice) and serve it with broccoli salad. Fry some tofu and serve it with broccoli salad.
2) As a main dish. Broccoli salad can be served as a main dish. It contains croutons and a lot of vegetables. This makes it very filling.
To cut broccoli step by step:
1) Wash broccoli under running water
2) Next cut the stem and any rough parts
3) Cut green florets with a knife, so they do not contains any rough stems
4) Finally if the florets are too big, you can cut them in half.
