Blanch broccoli before adding it to salad
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A recipe for sweet and crunchy broccoli salad has circulated potluck circles for years. It’s a combination of raw broccoli, raisins, bacon and various other additions, dressed with a highly sweetened mayonnaise dressing.
It’s fine as far as it goes, but I will share a secret with you.
The salad is better if you blanch the broccoli.
“Blanching” is a cooking term that means dunking it in boiling water (or cooking it in the microwave) just briefly, so the broccoli turns bright green and loses its woody quality. It becomes softer, your mouth doesn’t have to fight with it and the flavors meld better.
It also gives the broccoli a moist quality that reduces the need for quite so much mayonnaise, cutting calories and fat. More important, it improves the overall quality of the dish, so you’ll enjoy it more.
If the combination is new to you, it may seem odd to combine broccoli with bacon and raisins. Those foods just provide a sweet-salty note that complements the overall salad.
Before you begin cooking broccoli, prick potatoes and put them in the oven to bake. Begin baking chicken after potatoes have baked 30 minutes.
Serve with a fairly plain baked chicken and roasted potatoes. (They can roast together in the same pan in the oven.)
Broccoli Raisin Salad
5 cups fresh broccoli florets
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, preferably low-fat, not nonfat
2 tablespoons vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup cooked, crumbled bacon
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
Blanch broccoli florets in boiling water for 3 minutes, then rinse in cold water and drain on towels. (Alternatively, microwave broccoli florets by placing them in a dish wide enough to hold them in one layer, cover and cook on high power for 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.)
In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar and mustard. Stir in cooled broccoli, raisins, bacon and onion. Stir to blend.
Yield: 6 servings
Nutrition per serving: 140 calories, 2.5 grams fat (16 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 28 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fiber, 300 milligrams sodium.