Broccoli salad with cranberries and smoky nuts

Broccoli Salad

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 25 mins

Serves 4 to 6

This was love and lemons July 2022 'cooking club' recipe - where everyone made the same recipe and then sends a photo.  She then randomly chooses a winner  - a $200 gift card to Williams Sonoma.  I could make good use of that! I would make this salad a day ahead.  The next day, the broccoli is still fairly firm, but has absorbed more of the dressing.  Nice to get just a touch of sweet with the tangy dressing. The nuts were a bit of trouble, but would be difficult to fit in the toaster oven.  Might be worth pan toasting them to avoid heating the oven/kitchen for so little.  

This broccoli salad recipe is the perfect easy cookout side dish! Tangy, refreshing, and full of yummy sweet/salty flavor, it's a lighter version of the classic recipe, made with less mayo and no sugar, meat, or dairy.

Ingredients

• 1 pound broccoli crowns
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons mayo, I like Sir Kensington's or vegan mayo
• 1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
• ⅓ cup diced red onions
• ⅓ cup dried cranberries

Smoky tamari almonds

• ½ cup almonds
• ½ cup pepitas
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• ½ teaspoon maple syrup
• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, more to taste

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Chop the broccoli florets into ½-inch pieces and any remaining stems into ¼-inch dice. Peel any woody or course parts from the stem first.
• In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, mayo, apple cider vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, garlic, and salt. Add the broccoli, onions, and cranberries and toss to coat.
• Place the almonds and pepitas on the baking sheet, toss with the tamari, maple syrup, and smoked paprika and spread into a thin layer. Bake 10 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes (they’ll get crispier as they sit).
• Toss the almonds and pepitas into the salad, reserving a few to sprinkle on top. Season to taste and serve.

Notes

*Note: Chop the florets into roughly ½-inch pieces. Dice the stem into smaller ¼-inch pieces. 

Watermelon Gazpacho KindSoups

 Watermelon Gazpacho with KindChef Peg Philleo.

I changed things up as I prepared this, but not quite sure what I did - but it ended up very good.  I didn't have poblano peppers, so I added some chili powder and cayenne, possibly some cocoa chili.  Loved the base.  Store separately from the fruit.  The fruit part can be eaten separately, although the cucumber makes it a bit odd.  Can add peach as well. 

servings: 16 bowls

For the Watermelon Gazpacho Base:

• 16 cups chopped seedless watermelon
• 3/4 cup diced red onion
• 1/4 cup packed mint leaves; additional to top when serving
• 8 tablespoons chopped poblano pepper
• 4 cloves garlic
• 8 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 12 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper

For the full Gazpacho Recipe:

• 4 cups diced watermelon
• 4 cups diced cantaloupe
• 4 cups diced peeled cucumber
• 16 mint sprigs
• 1 cup shaved asiago cheese (I didn't use this)

Instructions

For the Watermelon Gazpacho Base:

1. Place all the ingredients into the blender, withholding the oil for later. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Then cover and puree until very smooth.
2. Then open the vent (on the lid of the blender) and slowly pour the olive oil into the gazpacho while the blender is running to emulsify. Taste for salt and pepper and add more if needed. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

To Serve:

1. Mix the diced watermelon, cantaloupe and cucumber in a bowl. Pour the watermelon gazpacho base into 4 serving bowls, then spoon the diced toppings into the middle of each bowl. Top with a mint sprig and/or chopped mint, and a sprinkle of asiago shavings.

 

Chickpea Tarragon Salad Sandwiches

 From Joe Yonan's book Cool Beans

I usually make chickpea salad just as I would tuna salad - mayo, lemon juice, celery, onion and sometimes some Italian dressing type mix.  This is a riff on that.  It's great to have around for lunch.

INGREDIENTS:

3.5 cups cooked or canned no-salt added chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 celery stalk diced

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

1/4 cup dried cherries

2 Tbsp tarragon leaves, chopped

1/4 cup chickpea aioli (see recipe) or vegan or traditional mayo

2 Tbsp vegan or dairy yogurt

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

6 buns or 12 slices bread, or serve over greens

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas  with a fork or potato masher, leaving some of them whole if desired.  

Add the celery, walnuts, cherries and tarragon and toss to combine.  

Gently fold in the aioli, yogurt, lemon, salt and pepper.  Add more salt and pepper as desired.

Serve on a sandwich or salad.

Chickpea Aioli

 From Joe Yonan's book: Cool Beans

This recipe uses chickpeas and aquafaba to avoid using mayo.  A small bullet-type blender works well because of the small volume of dressing.  An alternative is an immersion blender.

This was good in and on chickpea salad, but can also be used on any kind of sandwich.

INGREDIENTS (for about 1 cup):

1 garlic clove

1/4 cup aquafaba

2 Tbsp cooked or canned no-salt added chickpeas

3/4 tsp mustard

1/2 tsp Kosher salt, plus more to taste

3/4 cup grapeseed or other neutral vegetable oil

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cut open the garlic and remove any green sprout inside - this will keep the garlic from being too bitter when eaten raw. (This was a new tip for me!)

In a mini food processor, puree the garlic, aquafaba, chickpeas, mustard and salt until smooth

Drizzle in the oil (with the processor running, if possible), starting slowly and then feeling free to speed up once it starts thickening.

When the aioli is thick, add the lemon juice and whir a few seconds, just to combine.  Taste and add more salt and lemon juice if needed.

Keep in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Warm Okra, Tomato Salad

Adapted from washington post 6/29/22 - originally meant to have bacon, but I skipped that.  Photo 7/5/22

The mustard vinaigrette is peppery, but perfect to offset the okra and tomatoes.  

Okra is a relatively new vegetable for me.  I've learned a number of things - buy or pick it when it's nice and green, and use fairly quickly after picking them.  The larger ones tend to be more fibrous.  If one of them is fibrous when you cut into it, it will remain fibrous after cooking.  

To keep me interested in okra, I need to toss the fibrous ones.  Evidently lemon helps to reduce the slimy coating you can sometimes get - especially if the okra has been in the fridge for a number of days.  In this recipe, however, I didn't add the lemon mustard vinaigrette until after it was fully cooked. 

I didn't want to heat up my kitchen to roast one pound of veggies, so I used my air fryer instead. 

Time 30 minutes

Refrigerate for up to 2 days

INGREDIENTS: 

For the salad:

1 pound fresh okra, sliced lengthwise

3 Tbsp EVOO

1/2 tsp fine salt

1 Tbsp freshly cracked black pepper

2 cups (14-16 oz) grape tomatoes

1/2 cup (or less) crumbled goat cheese or feta

1/2 cup raw pecan halves

For the vinaigrette

1 shallot, finely grated or minced

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp fine salt

1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup EVOO (I think I only used 1/4 cup by accident)

Warm bread for serving - optional

DIRECTIONS:

1) Roast the okra - position a rack in the middle of the oven, preheat at 425 degrees

2) In a large, ovenproof skillet or pan, toss the okra with the OO, salt and pepper and arrange in a single layer as best you can.  Transfer to the oven and roast for 15 minutes, (I started this on the stove, then tossed the okra into the air fryer at 400) or until the okra is just starting to turn brown in spots. 

3) Make the vinaigrette: while okra is roasting, in a small bowl, whisk together the shallot, lemon zest and juice, mustard, salt and pepper.  Slowly add the oil, whisking constantly until emulsified. 

4) Make the salad: remove the  okra from the oven or air fryer, add the vinaigrette to lightly coat.  The original recipe calls for adding the tomatoes, cheese and 5 ounces of thick bacon and returning to the oven to roast for another 5 minutes or until the tomatoes start to shrivel).  I added the tomatoes, cheese and pecans, tossed and served.  The cheese starts to melt deliciously just by being next to the warm okra.  

Serve with warm bread if desired.