We grew up eating broccoli salad that had raisins, peanuts, a sweet mayonnaise dressing, and toasted Ramen noodles on top. It's a delight, which you know if you've had it. But every time we look up a recipe, we're turned off by the amount of mayonnaise or inclusion of the Ramen noodle seasonings packet (ew). So we set out to modernize the dish...
Recipe: Broccoli Slaw
Most recipes we've seen call for a bag of pre-shredded broccoli slaw. Even the recipes that called for fresh broccoli used only the stalks. And while this would be a fine way to use up stalks if you don't usually eat them, we're all for using the tops. They shred up a bit fine, but they're perfectly delicious in this slaw.
We will say that a food processor is pretty handy in making this dish. You could finely julienne the stalks and slice the florets into tiny pieces, but it's much, much quicker with a food processor.
As for the ingredients, we skipped the Ramen noodles in the name of trying to be healthier and used almonds instead of peanuts, which added a little more crunch and a milder flavor. We also used currants instead of raisins, because we love how their smaller size meshes well with the fine texture of the slaw.
There is mayonnaise in the dressing, but not nearly as much as in most recipes we saw. (One called for a cup of mayo and a cup of sour cream- yikes.) It's just enough dressing to keep everything moist without making a big, white pool at the bottom of the bowl.
Broccoli Slaw
makes 5 cups
2 heads broccoli
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons currants (plumped in boiling water, if desired)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
3/4 cup slivered almonds (or whole almonds that have been roughly chopped, like ours above)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
Shred the broccoli in a food processor, using the grater disk (the attachment with the smaller holes, not the one with long, thin blades). In a large bowl, combine the shredded broccoli, currants, red onion, and almonds.
Whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, salt, and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Pour the dressing over the broccoli mixture and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt or pepper, if needed. Allow to sit for 30 minutes (or an hour in the fridge) so the flavors can mingle.
Related: Recipe: Crunchy Peanut Slaw
(Image: Elizabeth Passarella)
Tags
Salad, Vegetable, Vegetarian, Quick, Side Dish, Keeps Well, Easy, Make Ahead, broccoli, coleslaw, slawShare
Comments (15)
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i'm snacking on a "fridge leftovers" slaw as i read this. i used the buttermilk dressing from smitten kitchen that calls for a mere 2 tblspns of mayonnaise (i've used less as well and it's still great). it's super tasty and i bet would make an awesome dressing with this recipe...
view shayna r's profile
I make this... I stole the recipe from a deli
instead of raisins I use red seedless grape, and instead of almonds I use pecans. The ripe grape/pecan combination is glorious. It is like little bits of sugar pop in your mouth.
view thill's profile
yum! at the office we get one that has dried cranberries in place of raisins and sunflower seeds in place of nuts. i didn't think i'd like it but i tried it anyway - it's hard to stop eating!
view akostalas's profile
I love broccoli slaw, but I try not to make it but MAYBE once a year because of the ingredients!
This is right up my alley and would be perfect for our Mother's Day lunch. I think I'd prefer cranberries, too, and I'm going to check out Smitten's dressing.
I love when a great post leads to great comments and suggestions. Thanks!
view Confabulation's profile
Oh man, Whole Foods Broccoli Crunch. I could eat that for lunch for weeks.
We make our own broccoli salad with raisins, sunflower seeds, red onion, celery, walnuts, bacon (!), and a sweet mayo-mustard vinaigrette. Lots of stuff, I know, but it's tasty. And the bacon is worth it.
view Amanda0730's profile
Thin the mayonnaise dressings with some low fat yogurt, if you don't keep buttermilk on hand.
view Kate (NC)'s profile
This salad is also outstanding with a poppy seed dressing. The little bit of sweet in the dressing makes it so good!
view aprilf00l's profile
made this tonight after finding some nice broccoli at the farmer's market. it helped me use up some currants that i've had stored for a long time now. i used sliced almonds instead of slivered (since that's what i had on hand) and substituted some with peanuts too. great recipe, thanks!
view bokeh's profile
I ate this from Whole Foods also. Soooo good. I looked up the recipe and I'm saving it for the start of summer. :)
view witchbaby's profile
Thanks so much for posting this. With a couple variations, I made it too! SO GOOD!
view UptownGirl's profile
I made it today but had to substitute the almonds with macadamia nuts and the currants with raisins, but it was still delicious!
view xieta's profile
Hey,buddy. I love your idea.
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view Aliven K.'s profile
This salad looks really delicious, thanks for the recipe. I will probably prepare it next weekend.
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view webgames's profile
This sounds good, but can you tell me any of the nutritional info? :)
view BetsyGinDC's profile
Yap This salad looks really delicious, thanks for the recipe. I will probably prepare it next weekend.
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view jodasen's profile