Warm broccoli salad? Yes please!
IT HAPPENED by accident, as some of the best kitchen discoveries do. And it started with yet another attempt to find a way to make a green vegetable appealing to our teenage son.
His relationship with vegetables isn’t exactly love/hate; it’s more should/ doesn’t. He knows he should eat them, he just doesn’t love them, so it’s easy to skip in favour of, well, usually wings and fries. (Potatoes are one vegetable he can and does get behind, naturally.)
I used to think I could make just about any vegetable taste good to just about anybody, but I also used to believe that good things happen to good people. So naive. Now, a husband who picks every last pea from a curry and a son who views any “healthy” food with suspicion keep me humble.
Thank goodness for the accidents. This one happened when I was prepping some broccoli to go alongside the teen’s typical protein.
He likes the flavour of lemon in desserts, so I decided to test how well it would go over in savoury form, and made a punchy, garlicky, lemony vinaigrette. Who could resist? I was in a hurry, so I whisked the dressing in a large bowl, and when the florets came out of the steamer, I tossed them right in the dressing.
Anybody who’s dressed a vinegary potato salad while the spuds are warm knows what happened next: the broccoli absorbed the flavours of the dressing into every nook and cranny. The result went over like a charm, with the teenager – and husband – asking me to make broccoli that way pretty much every time since.
Since then, I’ve been applying the technique to one of my other favourite warm salads: one based on grains and beans. I boil the rice in water and add chickpeas for the last few minutes to warm them, too, and while they’re cooking, I steam the broccoli over them. The flavours of the vinaigrette take just a few minutes to work their way in, and then I fold in something sweet/tart (dried cherries), something briny (olives), something crunchy (walnuts) and something grassy/herby (parsley). It’s more of a template than anything, with virtually all the elements – the type of grain, the type of bean, the starring vegetable and those add-ins – open to substitution.
The only non-negotiable is the temperature. Dress it while everything is cold instead of warm and you’ll miss the whole point.
I served the salad to my husband, who loved it, but I haven’t been brave enough to try it with the teenager yet. I don’t want to push my luck.
WARM BROCCOLI, CHICKPEA AND RICE SALAD
Total time:
Serves 4
What you need
30 minutes (8 cups)
1 cup short-grain brown rice
4 cups water, plus more if needed One (420g) can no-salt-added chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 broccoli crown (340g to 500g), trimmed and cut into florets
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons agave nectar
3 garlic cloves, pressed or finely grated ½ teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
½ cup walnut halves, chopped
½ cup dried cherries
½ cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
½ cup pitted green olives, drained and chopped
How to make it
In a medium saucepan over mediumhigh heat, combine the rice and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly to achieve a gentle boil and cook the rice until almost tender, about 20 minutes. Add the chickpeas. If you have a steamer insert that fits on the saucepan, attach it, add the broccoli, cover and cook until the broccoli is crisp-tender and the rice is tender, 3 to 4 minutes. (If you don’t have a steamer insert, continue cooking the rice and the chickpeas in the uncovered saucepan. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the broccoli with ¼ cup of water and cook on high until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes.)
Make the vinaigrette: While the rice is cooking, in a large bowl (big enough to fit the entire salad), whisk together the oil, lemon juice, mustard, agave, garlic, salt and pepper until emulsified.
When the rice and broccoli are cooked, transfer the broccoli while it’s hot to the vinaigrette and gently toss to coat. Drain the rice and chickpeas and transfer them while they’re hot to the bowl with the broccoli and vinaigrette. Gently toss to coat, and let sit for 5 minutes.
Stir in the walnuts, cherries, parsley and olives. Taste and season with more salt and/or pepper if needed.
Serve warm.
Substitutions:
Instead of broccoli, try cauliflower, zucchini or eggplant.
For lemon juice, substitute apple cider vinegar.
Instead of agave nectar, use honey (if you’re not vegan) or maple syrup.
Instead of chickpeas, white beans, pinto beans or black beans work.
For brown rice, you can substitute farro, barley or white rice.
Instead of walnuts, try almonds, cashews or peanuts.
No dried cherries? Try raisins, currants or dried apricots.
For the green olives, you can substitute black olives or ¼ cup capers.
Storage notes: Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days. |