Broccoli salad

Broccoli salad

45 min
Enjoy a creamy broccoli salad with bacon, raisins, and sunflower seeds coated in sweet-tangy goodness and studded with crispy bits of bacon. The classic broccoli salad is lovely on its own but can also be used as a delicious side for various lunch or dinner dishes. Who said salads are boring? Not with this recipe!
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https://www.arlafoods.co.uk/recipes/broccoli-salad/

Instructions

Dressing
  • Stir crème fraiche with red wine vinegar and sugar. Leave the dressing to chill for about an hour.
Salad
  • Fry bacon until crispy and let it drain on a paper towel.
  • Mix broccoli florets, sunflower seeds, raisins, red onion, and half of the bacon in a bowl. Pour the dressing over all the ingredients and mix everything.
  • Garnish with the rest of the bacon.
Enjoy!
Tip

If you prefer the broccoli to be less crunchy, you can blanch the florets for a softer bite while retaining colour and flavour. Pour boiling water over the florets in a colander followed by ice-cold water. Let the florets drain well on paper towels. They will still be crisp with a nice green colour.

Tip

You can, of course, enjoy it right away, but we recommend that you chill it in the fridge for at least a few hours. This allows the florets to soften a bit and absorb the flavours of the dressing and bacon, resulting in a tastier salad. Thus, you can prepare it a day or two in advance, allowing enough time for the flavours to meld together.

Questions about broccoli salad

With our recipe, you can make an easy broccoli salad with raisins, bacon, and a few other well-picked add-ins, perfect both for serving to guests or enjoying on a weekday. Continue reading and find out all about it.

What is broccoli salad?
Broccoli salad is a classic dish made with broccoli florets and a combination of other flavourful and colourful ingredients. Though the elements may vary slightly depending on the recipe, ours is a broccoli salad with bacon, sunflower seeds, raisins, and red onion, tossed with a crème fraiche dressing mixed with sugar and red wine vinegar.
How to make broccoli salad?
Start by preparing the dressing for the broccoli salad by mixing crème fraiche with red wine vinegar and sugar and letting it chill for about an hour. In the meantime, fry the bacon until it is crispy and drain it on a paper towel. Combine the rest of the ingredients – only use half the bacon – and mix it with the dressing. Finally, give the dish its crowing touch and garnish with the rest of the bacon.
What to eat with broccoli salad?
Broccoli salad with bacon and other flavourful ingredients is very versatile and can be paired with meat, fish, and other vegetables. Eat it with roasted beef and pork. If you prefer fish, pair the dish with cod or something with a bit more meat like salmon and trout. The salad also makes a good accompaniment for falafels stuffed in warm pita bread with hummus or simple pasta dishes. For a lighter serving, enjoy it with roasted potatoes or garlic bread.
Can you use frozen broccoli for broccoli salad?
You can use frozen broccoli for the salad, but the texture will be slightly different, and it will no longer have the same crisp, firm bite as when using fresh florets. If you are using frozen broccoli, make sure to defrost it first and drain any water before mixing the defrosted broccoli with the other ingredients.
Can you freeze broccoli salad?
Depending on the ingredients, you can freeze broccoli salad if you have not yet mixed it with the dressing, as this does not freeze well. However, we do not recommend doing it as it can affect the taste and texture of the ingredients. If you do want to give it a go, it is best to blanch the vegetables before mixing them with the other elements except for the dressing. By blanching the broccoli, the florets maintain their fresh appeal and colour even after being thawed.
How long is broccoli salad good for?
Broccoli salad will keep well in the fridge for about 3-5 days before going bad. Store it in an airtight container or a bowl covered with cling film. If you store the dressing and vegetables separately, they will taste fresh for a little longer, and you can simply mix everything well together right before serving.

Ingredients

Dressing
Sour cream, 9%, organic
250 ml
Red wine vinegar
2 tsp
Sugar
1½ tbsp
Salad
Bacon, in very small cubes
300 g
Broccoli, in very small florets
800 g
Red onion, finely diced (approx. 100 g)
1
Sunflower seeds
1½ dl
Raisins
1½ dl
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Broccoli salad with bacon and raisins

Are you looking for a salad with a perfect balance between sweet and savoury flavours? Then you must try our broccoli salad recipe with crunchy raw green florets, crispy bacon, sunflower seeds, red onion, and raisins tossed with a delicious sour cream dressing. It is a simple and classic dish that is perfectly delectable on its own but also pairs wonderfully with fish, roasted beef, and pork. You can throw it together in a matter of minutes and enjoy it immediately. It has lots of texture and just a touch of creaminess from the dressing. A great dish that demands seconds!

Check out some of our other salad recipes, for example, a classic Waldorf salad with grapes, apples, and celery or our homemade potato salad with fresh herbs. If you are looking for a chicken classic, try this Caesar salad with homemade croutons and cheese chips.

Classic sour cream and red wine vinegar dressing

The dressing for broccoli salad is simple yet so delicious with just a few ingredients. Made with sugar, sour cream, and red wine vinegar, this broccoli salad dressing yields the perfect flavours to tie the ingredients in the recipe together. The sour cream offers a rich, creamy texture with a tangy, slightly sour taste, while the red wine vinegar provides a strong tanginess with a touch of sweetness that pairs exceptionally well with creamy components like sour cream.

Delight in the sweet raisins and salty bacon

Discover an explosion of taste and texture with sweet raisins and salty bacon. At first glance, you would probably not think to combine these two very different elements in a cold broccoli salad. But they create a contrast that is so lovely you need to try it. It sounds like a strange combination, but raisins, with their hint of sweetness and toothsome chewiness, is an excellent foil for the crunchy and salty bacon. It is a sensational delight for texture lovers who love a little bit of sweetness combined with a bit of saltiness, so you should definitely try it out and savour a delicious portion of our broccoli salad with bacon and raisins.

Experiment with a cauliflower broccoli salad

Change up an old-time favourite and make a broccoli and cauliflower salad. Cut up raw cauliflower into bite-sized florets and mix it with the other ingredients. The cauliflower mixed with broccoli adds extra crunch to the mix. Unlike broccoli, which can have a sweet although slightly bitter taste, cauliflower has a slightly nutty and also almost sweet flavour with bitter undertones. So, it is no wonder that the two vegetables make a perfect pair as they complement each other so well in taste and texture.

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