crunchy broccoli, carrot & red onion salad

I took a photo of this salad and only just before serving did I realize that I had forgotten to top it with toasted pecans and sprouted beans. Ooops! At least I realized this before I served it as part of our dinner. The pecans and the sprouts added bonus flavour and crunch. It was summer salad perfection in the middle of spring!

For this salad, I didn’t go the raw broccoli route, but just steamed them ever-so slightly so that the crunch remained and colour popped. But the real inspiration for this was half an orange I had in the fridge. It wasn’t just any orange, it was a Minneola which is slightly tarter than a regular navel and a bit more lumpy. I love them and figured that it would really help to perk up the pedestrian vegetables in my crisper. I was so right. The orange went so well with all the vegetables. A bit of a warning though, the dressing is thin and runny and doesn’t have that thickness that it would if I would have added mustard or honey. But I’m okay with that and so are the vegetables since it really lets the orangeness of the dish shine. And I’m certainly okay with a bit of orange sunshine right about now.

16 comments to “crunchy broccoli, carrot & red onion salad”

  1. 1
    VeggieGirl   April 22, 2009 at 7:15 pm

    BROCCOLI!!!!!!!! My love.

  2. 2
    ~Molly~   April 22, 2009 at 7:50 pm

    Ohmygosh this looks refreshing!! Yum!

    Molly

  3. 3
    rawbean   April 22, 2009 at 7:15 pm

    I’m making this for dinner tonight. I am on my way to the store right now.

    YOU ROCK

  4. 4
    eatme_delicious   April 23, 2009 at 7:26 am

    Mmm delicious salad.

  5. 5
    Daily Spud   April 23, 2009 at 11:56 am

    I do love ever so slightly steamed broccoli in salads and a bit of orange sunshine is welcome at any time 🙂

  6. 6
    Cakespy   April 23, 2009 at 1:28 pm

    I love broccoli–am ALWAYS looking for new ways to prepare it. This looks awesome.

  7. 7
    kickpleat   April 24, 2009 at 3:17 pm

    I love it too veggiegirl!

    yay, hope you love it rawbean!

    molly, it is.

    eatme, it’s very crunchy and delicious 🙂

    dailyspud, hello orange sunshine!

    me too cakespy! maybe there’s a broccoli cake in the works??

  8. 8
    Maris   April 25, 2009 at 7:09 am

    Sounds so good! I love broccoli – believe it or not it’s my favorite veggie!

  9. 9
    Her name was Lola...   April 26, 2009 at 3:04 am

    that look SOOOOO delish!

  10. 10
    Cookie baker Lynn   April 27, 2009 at 7:40 am

    Looks beautiful, tasty, and healthy, too!

  11. 11
    stephchows   April 27, 2009 at 8:20 am

    Love that you lightly steamed the broccoli, it’s so much better than raw in my opinion 🙂

  12. 12
    kickpleat   April 28, 2009 at 11:58 am

    Maris, I’m a broccoli lover too. Let’s start a club!

    Lola, it’s pretty delicious, no foolin’!

    Lynn, it’s all of the above!

    Stephchows, I agree. Raw broccoli is too crunky for me.

  13. 13
    Betsy Head, Affordable Interior Design   April 28, 2009 at 8:03 pm

    That looks delicious!!!

    Betsy
    http://affordableinteriordesign.blogspot.com/

  14. 14
    jodye   April 29, 2009 at 7:12 pm

    Looks so simple and delicious. I love orange based dressings!

  15. 15
    kickpleat   April 30, 2009 at 5:59 pm

    Thanks Betsy!

    Jodye, me too 🙂

  16. 16
    nora   May 20, 2009 at 11:42 am

    broccoly is one of my fav vegie. and you know i used to include broccol in almost every salad i prep at home. this salad tasted great.. i lovedd it. and my husband loved it too 🙂 thanx a lot for sharing this amazing recipe

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