My Broccoli, Bacon and Cashew Salad is one of the best side dishes and a recipe that you must have in your repertoire. Tender broccoli combines with crispy bacon, roasted cashew nuts and dried cranberries. A tangy, creamy dressing coats all the ingredients. The broccoli soaks up the bright flavours of the dressing, complemented by the roasted cashews which provide great textural contrast. The flavour profile is a delicious balance of salty, sweet and tangy flavours.
2spring onions/scallions - some of the white part and greensliced on a diagonal about 1 cm (⅓ inch) wide
⅓cupunsalted roasted cashew nuts - cut in half
½cupdried cranberries
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl. Mix well. Cover, and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
Put a large saucepan of lightly salted water on the stove and bring to the boil.
Remove the stem from the broccoli. – See Note 2. Remove the florets from the broccoli and cut them into even bite-size pieces.
Prepare a bowl of iced water and set aside.
Add the florets to the boiling water, and cook for a couple of minutes, until just cooked but still crisp. Drain the broccoli and add the florets to the bowl of iced water to stop the cooking process and seal the green colour.
Once cool, remove and drain well. I let the florets dry on some kitchen towel or a clean tea towel to remove excess moisture. – See Note 3.
Trim the rind and excess fat from the bacon. Cut your bacon into bite-size pieces and fry in a small frying pan until crispy. Drain the cooked bacon pieces on some kitchen towel.
Shortly before serving, add all the salad ingredients to a large bowl and toss with the prepared dressing. Check the seasoning is to your taste. Enjoy! – See Note 4.
Notes
The Australian tablespoon is 20 ml or 4 teaspoons. In many other countries, the tablespoon is 15 ml or 3 teaspoons. Please adjust your measurements if necessary.
Although I do not use the stem in the salad, I don’t discard it! I recommend you try my Broccoli Stem and Carrot Slaw or enjoy the stem with dips. It is so delicious! But peel it first as the exterior is very fibrous.
After removing the broccoli from the iced water, it is important to drain it well. If water remains on the broccoli it will dilute the dressing and thus reduce the flavour.
The salad is best served the day it is made. You can prepare all the elements in advance, however, and then dress the salad shortly before serving.
The original recipe was three times the quantities shown here, so you can easily double or triple the recipe if you want a big serve for a party. (It is always popular!)
Please note, the nutritional information is based on this recipe serving four people as a side dish. The nutritional information is an estimate only.