1medium broccoli head (about 250 gr/ 9 oz/ 4 cups), rinsed and cut into bite size florets
lemon zest from one lemon
juice from half a lemon
2tablespoonsolive oil
2garlic cloves, crushed
a good pinch of salt, black pepper
the rest of the salad ingredients-
250gr/ 9 oz mixed greens for salad
1avocado, diced into cubes
1/4cupnatural cranberries
1/2cuppecans, coarsely chopped
for the vinaigrette dressing (use half the quantity)-
1/2cupolive oil
1/4cuplemon juice (see note)
1teaspoonmustard
2teaspoonsmaple / silan / honey (not vegan)
1garlic clove, crushed
1pinchof salt, black pepper
Instructions:
Preparation of the broccoli – In a suitable pot, put boiling water with a pinch of salt and broccoli florets. Bring to a second boil and cook for 2-3 minutes only. Drain and dry the broccoli.
Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C and prepare a medium baking pan lined with baking paper. In a medium bowl, mix lemon juice, lemon zest, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 crushed garlic cloves, a nice pinch of salt and black pepper to taste. Place the broccoli florets in the bowl and mix carefully until all the broccoli is well coated. Spread the broccoli in one layer on the baking pan and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove and mix the broccoli from the oven at least once during baking, so that all the broccoli parts will be equally charred.
Make the vinaigrette – Put all the ingredients of the dressing in a suitable jar with a lid, close and shake until you get a uniform dressing.
Assembling the Salad – In a large bowl, place all the ingredients of the salad – the charred broccoli, avocado cubes, natural cranberries and pecans. Pour half the dressing and mix carefully. enjoy your meal:)
Notes:
It’s (always) better to use fresh broccoli. You can use frozen broccoli not in season.
For the vinaigrette dressing, you can use, as indicated in the recipe, lemon juice or wine vinegar. You can mix between the lemon juice and the vinegar in case you need to (for example, if you use the half remaining lemon from the broccoli).
You can also use the broccoli stems, there really is no need to throw them away. In such case, peel off the thick, woody stems with a knife, and slice into bite-size rings.
If desired, you can cook the broccoli in the microwave. In this case, you should first coat the broccoli with the mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, salt and pepper, place in in a bowl suited for microwave use, and add a few drops of water, literally 2-3 tablespoons at the bottom of the bowl. Cover and place in microwave for 2 minutes. Then, transfer the broccoli to the baking pan and cook in the oven as the recipe indicates.
As mentioned above, you only need half of the salad dressing to coat this salad. The rest of the dressing can be kept in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.