New Broccoli Salad
Broccoli salad- you know the one. The overly sweet, mayo laden mess disguised as a healthy side dish that shows up at potlucks and BBQs all across America. It’s never been my favorite, but I can appreciate the play on salty and sweet, so I set out to make a version that I would actually want to eat. Say hello to the NEW broccoli salad. Think of this as the lighter, more sophisticated version of the picnic classic. I’ve swapped out the mayo dressing with a tangy walnut one with a secret ingredient (GASP! ANCHOVIES!), the sickly sweet dried fruit for fresh grapes, and the bacon for grilled halloumi cheese. It’s the perfect balance of salty, tangy, and sweet- a broccoli salad I can get behind.
New Broccoli Salad
New Broccoli Salad
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs broccolini, cut into 1-2” pieces
3 stalks celery, sliced thin- approximately 1 C
1 C seedless red grapes, quartered
1/4 C red onion, minced
8 oz halloumi cheese, sliced
1/3 C walnut pieces
2 anchovy fillets
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
pinch crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 C basil leaves, torn into pieces
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Blanch broccolini for 3 min, remove from water and immediately transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add celery, grapes, and red onion to broccolini.
On a grill or grill pan, grill halloumi cheese until it is crispy and has grill marks on both sides. Dice cheese into cubes and add to broccolini.
Make dressing. In a food processor, combine walnuts, anchovy fillets, vinegar, olive oil, crushed red pepper, and kosher salt. Pulse until creamy.
Toss salad with dressing and top with torn basil leaves. Give a light toss to gently incorporate basil.
