Broccoli Salad

Broccoli is so nutritious and making creative salads with it is an easy delicious way to eat more broccoli. Here is an easy guide to help you make your own salad creations!

Broccoli Salad Basics

Broccoli salad is a very versatile dish that can be made in an
endless variety of ways. Here is a breakdown of the most
popular ingredients and dressings.

1-Ingredients:

The first ingredient is of course fresh broccoli. 2 heads will
do for an average sized salad. Chop the stem off and cut the
flowerettes into bite sized pieces.

Next add some chopped vegetables. The favorites are onion,
celery, carrots and cauliflower. Just add as much as you like
until it looks like a good mix.

Some people like to add bacon. Fry up 6-8 strips until crispy,
drain grease and set aside. Crumble bacon after it's cooled and
add to salad just before serving.

Any type of cheese can be used. It can be cubed, crumbled,
shredded, or creamed as part of a dressing.

Fruit is often added to these salads, usually raisins. Also
popular are grapes, cranberries, chopped apple, mandarin orange
pieces, or any dried fruit.

Adding sunflower seeds or nuts to the mix gives the salad a
little extra crunch. Almonds, walnuts, cashews and hazelnuts
are good examples. Try not to chop the nuts too small. Keeping
the pieces larger helps the flavour of the nut stand out a
little. Toasting the nuts with a little seasoning is an option
as well.

If you would rather not chop up any fruit or nuts just add some
trail mix to the salad instead.

2-Dressings:

a. The standard dressing for this salad is a basic
mayonnaise/vinegar/sugar mix:

1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar

* Mayonnaise can be mixed with yogurt to lighten it up.
* Flavoured vinegar can be used or substituted with lemon or
lime juice.
* Artificial sweetener can be used instead of sugar.

b. An oil/vinegar dressing can also be used:

1/2 cup salad oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar(optional)
1/2 tsp. salt

* Flavoured cider or wine vinegar is recommended.
* Spices such as celery seed, onion powder, basil, and oregano
can be added.

c. Your favorite bottled dressing can be used as well. Any
creamy or italian style dressing will work fine on a broccoli
salad . A good one to try is 3-cheese ranch.

3-More Stuff:

Here's a few various items that could be added to make your
salad something original:

* Any canned vegetable such as peas, corn or beans(black,
kidney, garbanzo, waxed, etc.).
* Fresh vegetables such as mushrooms, chives, bean sprouts,
green beans, cucumber and bell peppers.
* Seafood can make it interesting: shrimp, scallops, salmon,
and calamari are good additions.

4-The Method:

* Add broccoli flowerettes and any other ingredients you are
using to your salad bowl. If you are using crumbled bacon or
bacon bits add them just before serving.
* Add your dressing, mix and refrigerate 2-4 hours or
overnight.
* Stir salad again before serving.

About The Author: Gordon Angrignon is a sea-urchin diver from
Cumberland, British Columbia on Vancouver Island. When not on
the fishing grounds he's busy researching and making salads for
his website http://www.easysaladrecipes.com, a compilation of
free salad recipes including Broccoli Salad Recipes
http://www.easysaladrecipes.com/broccolisaladrecipe.html.