Broccoli Salads

Nutritionists often include broccoli among the most useful vegetables. In addition to vitamins and minerals that are found in other types of cabbage, broccoli contains sulforaphane - a special organic compound based on sulfur, which has antibacterial and anti-cancer properties. Saturating the body with valuable substances, this product does not have a high calorie content, it can be included in the diet of those who follow a diet for weight loss. Salads with broccoli look elegant and appetizing, have an unusual, but pleasant taste. They like even those who are indifferent to the asparagus cabbage. You can make such snacks both on weekdays and on holidays.

Cooking Features

Broccoli salads are easy to prepare, and this process does not take much time and effort. However, not all housewives result is equally good. To make a broccoli snack delicious and appetizing, you need to know a few things.

Usually only broccoli inflorescences are eaten, but its stems are also edible and useful. Use for salads need only the upper part, which is close to the inflorescences. Stems require longer preparation, so they are dipped in boiling water 5 minutes earlier than inflorescences.
In order to keep the maximum of useful elements contained in broccoli, it is necessary to minimize the heat treatment time. To do this, the inflorescences are dipped in already boiling water, and not warmed up, filled with cold water. The heat treatment time for fresh or frozen broccoli is 5-7 minutes; there is no need to exceed this time.
If you want maximum benefit from eating broccoli, you can add it to the salad raw or half-baked.
In order for broccoli to retain its bright color, immediately after boiling it must be dipped in a container with cold water.
Before combining with other ingredients, broccoli and other heat-treated products must be cooled. If you mix hot ingredients with cold ingredients, the snack will quickly sour.
It is necessary to fill salads with broccoli shortly before serving to the table, so that they will not lose their freshness longer.
Salting vegetable salads is not necessary. If you still decide to salt them, you need to do it last, otherwise the vegetables will let the juice in and the salad will turn out watery, lose aesthetics. A good idea would be to replace salt with soy sauce.

Broccoli goes well with boiled and fresh vegetables, lean meat, seafood. Therefore, recipes for salads from it are varied. The technology of their preparation may also vary. Carefully reading the instructions accompanying a specific recipe, you will avoid mistakes.

Broccoli salad with red peppers and tomatoes

Composition:

fresh or frozen broccoli - 0, 3 kg;
tomatoes - 0, 3 kg;
Bulgarian pepper - 0, 6 kg;
red onion - 100 g;
olive oil - 40 ml;
soy sauce - 40 ml;
ground black pepper to taste.

Preparation Method:

Wash broccoli, disassembled into florets, let it dry. The frozen product does not require preliminary preparation.
Boil the water. Dip the broccoli in it. Cook for 5 minutes. Catch with a slotted spoon and transfer to a container filled with cold water.
Throw broccoli into a colander after 5 minutes, let it dry.
Wash peppers, remove their stems and seeds. Cut the pulp into wide half rings (about 5 mm). Boil them for 5 minutes, steamed or flush in boiling water. Putting it in a colander, cool.
Wash tomatoes and blot with a napkin. Cut into halves or quarters circles. Use a sharply sharpened knife, so as not to squeeze the juice from the fruit when pressing on their skin.
Free from onions peel, cut into thin half-rings.
Fold all the vegetables in the salad into a large bowl.
Mix olive oil and soy sauce separately.
Pour over cooked dressing vegetables, mix.

It remains to shift the salad into a beautiful vase and serve. If you make a snack from raw vegetables, it will turn out to be no less tasty, but then you will need to cut the food into smaller pieces.

Broccoli salad with chicken breast

Composition:

chicken breast fillet - 0, 4 kg;
broccoli - 0, 4 kg;
hard cheese - 0, 2 kg;
mayonnaise or yogurt - 150 ml;
salt, black pepper powder - to taste.

Preparation Method:

Boil chicken breast in salted water, cool. Remove the skin, separate the meat from the bones. Each piece cut across into 3-4 pieces, disassemble into fibers, put in a container for mixing the ingredients.
Prepare broccoli by washing and disassembling into florets. Dip in boiling water, boil for 5 minutes, drain in a colander, cool under a gentle stream of cold water, let dry.
Cut broccoli florets into 4-6 pieces depending on their size, put them to the chicken.
Chop grated cheese with large holes, add to broccoli and chicken meat.
Pepper. You can lightly salt. Season with mayonnaise or savory yogurt.

Snacks for this recipe is nourishing, but not too high in calories. Such a dish can be included in the menu without fear of getting better.

Broccoli salad with crab sticks

Composition:

broccoli - 0, 2 kg;
crab sticks - 0, 2 kg;
chicken egg - 4 pcs .;
leaf lettuce - 50 g;
mayonnaise - to taste.

Preparation Method:

Broccoli disassemble into florets, rinse, boil in salted water, cool and allow to dry. Cut each inflorescence into several pieces.
Eggs boil hard boiled. Place a saucepan with them under a stream of cold water, so that they quickly cool down. Free from the shell, cut into small cubes.
Crab sticks defrost. They must thaw in natural conditions. If you try to heat them in the microwave, they will become hard as rubber.
Free the crab sticks from films, cut into medium pieces.
Combine crab sticks, eggs and broccoli in a bowl. Season with mayonnaise.
Tear lettuce leaves, put on a dish.
Transfer the appetizer to the lettuce leaves and serve.

Despite the simple composition and ease of preparation, the appetizer according to this recipe turns out to be delicious and appetizing. This salad is not ashamed to submit to the festive table.

Broccoli and cauliflower salad

Composition:

broccoli - 0, 2 kg;
cauliflower - 0, 2 kg;
onions - 100 g;
fresh parsley - 50 g;
soy sauce - 20 ml;
sour cream - 150 ml;
vegetable oil - 40 ml;
sesame seeds - to taste.

Preparation Method:

Discontinue cauliflower and broccoli into florets, rinse under running water, let them dry.
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan, put both kinds of cabbage into it, fry for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Put the cabbage on a napkin so that it absorbs the remaining fat.
When the cabbage has cooled, add the onion, cut into thin half rings, to it.
Mix sour cream with soy sauce.
Put the vegetables in a salad bowl or on a large dish, pour with sour cream dressing, sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped parsley.

Salad made according to this recipe is popular with almost everyone. It turns out to be nourishing enough to replace dinner with it, and light enough so that you will not experience a heavy stomach after a treat.

Raw Broccoli Salad

Composition:

broccoli (together with the stems) - 0.3 kg;
red onion - 100 g;
garlic - 1 clove;
cashews - 100 g;
a mixture of dried herbs - 5 g;
salt, spicy ground pepper - to taste;
lettuce leaves - 5-7 pcs .;
honey - 5 ml;
boiled water - how much will leave.

Preparation Method:

Put nuts into the blender bowl, pour them with liquid honey, add half of the onion, after cleaning it and cutting it into several pieces. Pour seasoning and salt. Add a couple of spoons of boiled water. Turn on the unit and turn its contents into a homogeneous mass. Dilute with water so that the sauce gets the consistency of liquid sour cream. Whisk.
Cut the remaining onion into small pieces. Put in a bowl.
Finely chop the garlic, add to the onion.
Wash broccoli. Chop the stalks on a coarse grater, cut the inflorescences into small pieces. Add to onions and garlic.
Fill vegetables with nut sauce, mix.
Put the appetizer on lettuce leaves.

Raw broccoli salad is healthier than boiled. Thanks to the nut sauce and spicy additives, the raw cabbage in this appetizer turns out very tasty. Your guests will not immediately guess what this savory dish has been made from, but will almost certainly be delighted with it.

How to decorate a broccoli salad

Broccoli inflorescences usually look decorative, and the salads from them look appetizing and fresh even without additional decor. However, when preparing them for the holiday table does not hurt to take care of proper design. You can offer a few ideas for decorating broccoli salads.

The broccoli salad will look much more elegant if you put it on lettuce leaves, sprinkled with sesame, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, crushed nuts. These ingredients will not only give the appearance of an external chic, but also make it more satisfying.
Broccoli florets look like flowers. It is possible to emphasize this similarity by collecting 3 inflorescences in a “bouquet” and decorating it with sprigs of fresh greens, “ribbons” of cucumbers, apples, carrots or other products that can be cut into thin narrow strips. It is convenient to cut products into such slices with the help of a peeler.
If the products that make up the salad are chopped finely enough, they can be laid in layers, sprinkled with finely chopped greens, and decorated with flowers from vegetables.

If you don’t have time to decorate a broccoli salad, you can serve it in ice-cream bowls. Then it will look much more refined than served in a large salad bowl.

Broccoli salads are not only healthy, but also tasty. Their preparation does not take much time and effort, but they can become an ornament to the table. The presence of a large number of recipes for this snack allows you to choose the option for every taste.