Blanched Broccoli Salad with Pumpkin Seeds and Dried Cherries

This broccoli salad was inspired by another contest at Food52. I submitted this recipe to the contest, but have since tweaked it a bit to come up with the version you see here.

Though I will certainly eat steamed broccoli, I much prefer it when broccoli has been blanched. Yes, I know “blanched” is just a fancy way to say “boiled” and yes, I know you lose some of the nutrients in the cooking water.

But I simply don’t care. I don’t blanch/boil it for very long and it just tastes better to me.

My favorite way to eat blanched broccoli is with a simple dip made from equal parts good quality mayo and organic brown mustard. So I took the basic elements, embellished them a bit, and came up with a lightly dressed sweet and crunchy broccoli salad. If you can’t find the Meyer lemon for the dressing, use regular lemon juice and add a bit of honey.

Blanched Broccoli Salad with Pumpkin Seeds and Dried Cherries
Serves 2-4

Ingredients for the salad:

* 1 head of organic broccoli, cut into florets
* 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted in a hot pan for 1-2 minutes, until they pop (be careful they don’t burn)
* 1/4 cup dried cherries

For the dressing:

* juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon
* 1 tablespoon mayonnaise (or a little more to taste), preferably made with olive oil (or use grape seed oil Vegenaise, which also happens to be vegan)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1/2 tablespoon organic brown mustard

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a large pinch of salt and the broccoli florets. Cook for 2-3 minutes (not more: you don’t want the broccoli to be too soft). Drain the broccoli and allow to cool.

Mix the broccoli, pumpkin seeds and dried cherries in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, the mayonnaise, the olive oil and the mustard. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well to combine.

Sadly I didn’t make it into the Food52 “broccoli finals” with this recipe…to see those that did, (they are both roasted broccoli recipes) and to vote for the winning recipe check out Roasted Broccoli with Paprika Vinaigrette and Marcona Almonds and Roasted Bagna Cauda Broccoli.