Marinated Broccoli Salad

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
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• ½ cup toasted sunflower seeds or slivered almonds

Dressing:

• 2 Tbsp. molasses
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
• ¼ cup cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• ½ cup olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.