Broccoli Craisin Salad Recipe | Tori Avey

This delightful vegetarian Broccoli Craisin Salad is crunchy, sweet and satisfying. It features lightly steamed broccoli, toasted sunflower seeds, sweet plump dried cranberries (craisins), and a creamy sweet-and-tangy dressing. A versatile make-ahead side salad, this recipe can also be made vegan if you use an egg-free mayonnaise in the dressing. The flavor is absolutely addicting!

You know those facts on the bottom of the Snapple caps– “Real Facts”? My family is kind of obsessed with them. We find them to be a great source of entertainment; in fact, they’ve started many a dinner table conversation in our home.

One evening, I got a Snapple cap with a fun food fact:

Broccoli is the only vegetable that is also a flower.

Fascinating stuff, just the kind of brilliant tidbit I’d come to expect from a Snapple cap. And yet, it wasn’t entirely true. Apparently, this Snapple fact was later updated to reflect a more accurate fact– Broccoli and cauliflower are the only vegetables that are flowers. Broccoli and cauliflower are, after all, botanical siblings.

On the surface, broccoli seems like a pretty run-of-the-mill vegetable. I serve it at least once a week with dinner because it’s one of the healthiest greens out there. Broccoli is a great source of vitamin C, folate, beta-carotene, potassium, fiber, and calcium. Like other cruciferous vegetables, it contains potent cancer-fighting compounds called phytochemicals that make it a powerhouse in the nutrition department.

However, broccoli’s story goes much deeper than nutrition. If broccoli could talk, it would whisper of an ancient ancestry that goes back further than anybody can really pinpoint.

Antique engraving of a broccoli plant from “Specimens des divers caracteres et vignettes typographiques de la fonderie” by Laurent de Berny (Paris, 1878).

Broccoli first appeared in the Mediterranean, and may have been biologically bred from a cabbage-like ancestor by the pre-Roman Etruscan civilization. The vegetable became popular in ancient Rome; the name broccoli derives from an Italian word, brocco, which means “little branches.”

Broccoli was introduced to the American colonies in the early 1700’s. Thomas Jefferson had it planted in his gardens at Monticello, and it was mentioned in a Virginia gardening book published around 1765. Recipes for the vegetable appear in several American and British cookbooks from the 1700’s and 1800’s. Here is a recipe from “The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy” by Hannah Glasse (American edition, 1805):

To dress Broccoli.

STRIP all the little branches off till you come to the top one, then with a knife peel off all the hard outside skin, which is on the stalks and little branches, and throw them into water. Have a stew-pan of water with some water in it: when it boils put in the broccoli, and when the stalks are tender it is enough, then send it to table with a piece of toasted bread soaked in the water the broccoli is boiled in under it, the same way as asparagus, with butter in a cup. The French eat oil and vinegar with it.

Though broccoli was known throughout the colonies, it wasn’t widely available in America till the 1920’s when Italian immigrants began to cultivate it in California.

This is all great information, but how does one turn these “little branches” into a delicious side dish? Enter my Crunchy Sweet Broccoli Craisin Salad.

You only need to lightly steam the broccoli, which means it keeps most of its nutrients. Sunflower seeds add a delicious crunch and a healthy dose of Vitamin E to the mix. Craisins provide a burst of tart sweetness and color; regular raisins can be substituted if you’ve got them on hand.

If you have broccoli haters in your family, give this salad a try. It may just convert them.

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Food Photography and Styling by Kelly Jaggers

Broccoli Craisin Salad

A simple, healthy, delicious make-ahead side dish with broccoli, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, scallions and dressing. Vegetarian or vegan.

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COURSE: Salad

Kosher Key: Parve

Servings: 8 servings

Prep Time: 2 hours hours

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 3 pounds broccoli (about 4 heads)
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup craisins
• 8 scallions chopped into small rings (green part only)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (use a vegan mayonnaise to make recipe vegan)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (gluten free note below)
• 1 tablespoon sugar (you may substitute any preferred sweetener, less or more to taste)

NOTES

Note: If gluten free make sure your vinegar and mayonnaise are certified GF.

Instructions

• Remove stems from the broccoli heads and chop them into smaller bite-size florets. Pour 1/2 cup of water into a medium pot and bring to a boil. Add broccoli pieces to the pot and cover. Steam the broccoli for 4-5 minutes until bright green and tender-crisp. 
  
• Remove broccoli pieces from the pot with a slotted spoon and place them on two layers of paper towel, allow them to drain and cool completely.
  
  
• Toast the sunflower seeds in a skillet over medium heat until lightly browned.
  
  
• Place the broccoli florets, craisins, scallions, and toasted sunflower seeds in a large mixing bowl.
  
  
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, and sugar. Add sugar (or preferred sweetener) last, adding a teaspoon at a time until the dressing is sweet enough for your taste. 
  
  
• Pour dressing over the broccoli mixture. Toss to coat the broccoli evenly with the dressing and thoroughly mix all ingredients.
  
  
• Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow flavors to marinate. Flavors improve with time. Serve chilled.
  
  

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Broccoli Craisin Salad

Amount Per Serving

Calories 237 Calories from Fat 135

% Daily Value*

Fat 15g23%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Cholesterol 5mg2%

Sodium 148mg6%

Potassium 624mg18%

Carbohydrates 22g7%

Fiber 5g21%

Sugar 10g11%

Protein 6g12%

Vitamin A 1190IU24%

Vitamin C 154.1mg187%

Calcium 95mg10%

Iron 1.9mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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