I Know You Will Love This Broccoli Salad Recipe
I’ve been on a bit of a health kick lately after staring 2019 off not so well. I had the best of intentions when I started this year, to focus on my health. But moving to a new state is very stressful, and a lot of my healthy habits slipped earlier this year. Finally, a couple weeks ago, I got back on track with healthy eating and exercise. I’ve been focusing a lot more on whole foods, and that’s where this great recipe for broccoli salad comes in.
See, I love to eat broccoli, but only roasted broccoli or steamed broccoli. I generally think raw broccoli is gross. I’m not a ranch dressing or dill dip kinda gal. I actually don’t like salad dressing much at all. So eating raw broccoli plain, well, it’s just not that appealing. Then I came across this broccoli salad recipe and it sounded too good not to try at least once.
I absolutely love cashews. Although it seemed strange to create a ‘dressing’ out of cashews, I figured it was worth a shot. Can I just tell you, I’ve never enjoyed eating vegetables as much! This raw broccoli salad is so delicious, my kids even liked it. I really enjoyed the crunch of the broccoli and the cashew dressing wasn’t too wet. I’m not a huge fan of overly dressed salads, so I was glad this one was struck the perfect balance.
If you’re not a huge fan of raw broccoli either, I highly suggest you give this creamy cashew and broccoli salad recipe a try. I’m pretty sure you’ll love it as much as I did and it’s super easy to make.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup filtered water
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews, soaked
and drained
3 tablespoons fresh citrus juice, plus
more to taste (I used grapefruit)
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher sea salt, plus more
to taste
1 pound broccoli, rinsed, trimmed and sliced thinly on a mandolin
Optional:
6 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3 ounces coarsely chopped, toasted pecans or hazelnuts
2 tablespoons chiffonade fresh basil leaves
Instructions:
1. Throw everything except broccoli (and optional ingredients) in your blender, and whizz on high for 30-60 seconds. Tweak grapefruit juice, garlic, and
salt to taste.
2. In a large bowl, add the broccoli and cashew dressing; toss to coat. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, hazelnuts and basil. Cover and allow to sit, at room temperature or in the refrigerator, for another 15 minutes before serving.