Broccoli Salad
Description
Perfect for an everyday table. If you opened this recipe hoping to find a light, diet-friendly broccoli salad here — this is not what you're looking for :) But don't close the page just yet! I'm sure you'll enjoy this broccoli salad too. Yes, it's not particularly healthy or dietetic (after all, fried bacon and mayonnaise aren't the healthiest foods on Earth), but it's fantastically delicious and, if I may say so, absolutely perfect from a culinary science standpoint. The story behind this salad is actually quite interesting. A long time ago, about ten years back, when my wife and I were still young, we had a similar broccoli salad at a restaurant. I didn't think about that salad for ten years—then suddenly, I remembered it. And that was it—I wanted it, end of story. We somehow managed to recall the ingredients, but remembering how it was prepared proved much harder. But I didn't give up :) After three attempts, I finally created a truly delicious, restaurant-quality broccoli salad with perfect taste and an appealing appearance. Now this broccoli salad is a regular guest at our table—even during festive occasions. I highly recommend you give it a try. Don't be afraid to cook broccoli—the salad might seem unusual and unconventional, but I assure you, your diners will love this culinary experiment! ;) Garnish as desired and serve.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Cut the bacon into small pieces.
- 2
Step 2
Place the bacon in a frying pan and set it over medium heat. Cook over medium heat until the bacon is browned.
- 3
Step 3
Place the fried bacon on a paper towel to absorb the excess fat, which we definitely don't need in the salad.
- 4
Step 4
Separate the broccoli into florets. You can cut off the stems.
- 5
Step 5
Add broccoli florets to boiling unsalted water. Cook (more accurately, blanch) for 2 minutes.
- 6
Step 6
Then immediately transfer the broccoli to a bowl of ice water to instantly stop the cooking process. This is very important—if you simply drain the broccoli in a colander, the florets will become soft and won't be crisp.
- 7
Step 7
Ice-cold water will immediately become warm upon contact with the hot broccoli florets, so we drain this water and pour fresh ice-cold water again. We repeat this process until the florets have cooled down completely. Once cooled, we drain the florets in a colander (or alternatively, simply cool the broccoli under running cold water).
- 8
Step 8
Finely chop the onion.
- 9
Step 9
Now prepare the dressing. Add honey and apple cider vinegar to mayonnaise (I use homemade, but store-bought is fine too).
- 10
Step 10
Mix well.
- 11
Step 11
Add the fried bacon to the resulting dressing.
- 12
Step 12
Add the chopped onion to the same pan.
- 13
Step 13
Now gently combine the prepared dressing mixture with the bacon, onions, grated cheese, and broccoli. Add the broccoli last and mix very carefully—we want to make a broccoli salad, not a puree. Gently toss everything together, then refrigerate the salad for at least half an hour before serving.