Broccoli Cashew Salad…

As a former vegetarian, I ate a lot of salads. A lot. Not only was it the easiest way to meet my veggie quota for the day, but it was often the default meatless entree when dining out. After some time, eating big bowls of greens became monotonous—even switching up the toppings and dressings didn’t help after a point. I wanted another version of salad that would still give me the veggies I needed, but rated higher on the excitement/flavor scale. I also wanted a variation that didn’t take an eternity to throw together, could feed me for multiple days, and was perfect for on-the-go.

School is back in session, which means I’m back to work–and back to school means packing lunches for both myself and my son. I work in a school clinic and it is a busy one: I often don’t get 30 minutes away to eat a regular lunch, so something I can easily eat at my desk in between seeing kids was an additional requirement.

For the next four weeks, I will share my favorite to-go salads: these salads meet all of my criteria—most of them are balanced enough to be an entire meal. Welcome to week one: Broccoli Cashew Salad.

I’m fairly certain that most of you have had this dish at some party, pot-luck or other gathering: you know, that infamous mixture of broccoli, cashews, raisins and bacon. I used to eat an inordinate amount of this stuff back when I was in nursing school. You could often find me studying at Sweet Tomatoes with a plateful of broccoli salad, soup, and cornbread slathered with honey butter.

I’ve changed up the traditional recipe a bit to make it my own: first, sautéed onions are sweeter than their pungent, raw counterpart—just make sure they are cooled before adding them to the broccoli; secondly, Canadian bacon is a leaner substitute for the bacon; lastly, I learned that this traditional salad can very easily be prepared vegan: it doesn’t need the bacon/ham to still be delicious—the nuts can easily act as the salty component to balance the sweet and sour flavors. This is a filling meal for me; crackers–or cornbread–on the side round it all out nicely.

I prefer to use raw broccoli, but see the note below if you want to briefly blanch it…it’s your call. The best part about this salad is that it gets better with age; it will keep for up to three days in the fridge. If you don’t use all of the dressing at first, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge as you may need to freshen up the broccoli to add some moisture by day two. See you next week!

BROCCOLI CASHEW SALAD
This salad has several variations based on your taste/dietary preferences. Canadian bacon can be swapped for bacon—or omit the meat altogether.  Dried cranberries can substitute for the raisins and pine nuts or shelled sunflower seeds can replace the cashews…you get the idea.

Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise or Vegannaise
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1-2 Tablespoons sugar (to taste)

Salad
2 heads broccoli, cut into small florets, raw or blanched—see Note #1
1 medium onion, diced
6 slices bacon or vegan bacon or 4 slices Canadian bacon, diced, optional
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 – 1 cup salted, toasted cashews, cooled—see Note #2

Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside as to allow sugar to dissolve.

Heat skillet over medium heat. Add bacon to skillet; when fat begins to render, add onion and sauté until onion is translucent—if using Canadian bacon, add 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil to hot skillet and sauté onions and Canadian bacon together until onion is translucent. If not using bacon or ham, add 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil to heated pan and sauté onion. With a slotted spoon, remove bacon and/or onions from pan, set aside to cool.

Place prepared broccoli and cooled onions and bacon into a bowl. Add dressing, 2 tablespoons at a time, to taste; toss to coat. Once desired amount of dressing is achieved, add raisins and cashews and mix well. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Note #1: Broccoli can be used raw in this recipe or blanched, by briefly added to boiling water for 5 minutes and immediately transferred to a bowl of ice water for 3 minutes; drain well.

Note #2: To toast cashews, heat a small pan over medium heat. Toss nuts in dry pan until they begin to turn golden and you can smell the nutty goodness. Remove from pan to cool.

Makes 4 main or 8 side portions.