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| Marinated broccoli salad is a lovely and delicious alternative to leafy salads. |
With all of our big family potlucks it’s great to have a stash of salad recipes that venture from the lettuce sort. In fact, a group of friends and I were joking the other night about a potluck I hosted where everyone, everyone, brought a salad. Fortunately they weren’t all leafy green salads. You can make a great summer meal of salads when there’s a good variety of vegetables and textures involved. (Not so much when everyone brings meatballs, which happed at a potluck my sister once attended).
This marinated broccoli salad recipe from my sister-in-law Jane adds great variety to a potluck and is a welcome change from basic steamed broccoli. It tastes especially good when it has had a chance to sit for a few hours to mellow the texture and flavour of the raw broccoli. What’s better, it can last in the fridge for a few days and maintains its crunch.
Some people may find a big bowl of raw broccoli daunting. There is a lot of chewing involved with uncooked vegetables but I assure you this salad is worth it.
Be sure to use the broccoli stalks too. Just peel them with a vegetable peeler then cut into a fine dice.
Jane’s Marinated Broccoli Salad
- 1 large head of broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces
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1 small red onion, diced
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1 tomato, diced
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1 red pepper, diced
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½ cup toasted sunflower seeds or slivered almonds
Dressing:
- 2 Tbsp. molasses
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2 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
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¼ cup cider vinegar
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1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
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½ cup olive oil
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Salt & pepper to taste
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Place all dressing ingredients, except oil, in a jar with a lid and give it a good shake, taking care to incorporate the mustard well. Add the oil and give it another good shake until it’s well blended. Season with salt and pepper.
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Place vegetables in a big bowl and toss with the dressing (you may not need all of it.) Best if made a few hours ahead. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds before serving.
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Note: The original recipe called for ½ cup of sugar in the dressing but I prefer a more savoury sweet so have substituted sweeteners with more substance and flavour.
