Recipe

Broccoli salad with cooked mustard dressing

Serves 4 – 6

Recipe developed for Cooking from the heart SA, by Pharma Dynamics.

This cooked mustard dressing is a healthier alternative to mayonnaise and you may remember that your grandmother made something similar, many years ago. It’s quite a versatile dressing as it’s as delicious with other salads, like a potato salad, or use it in a slaw. You can even drizzle it over lightly cooked green beans. In this recipe the dressing is divine with the steamed broccoli, sweet, crisp apples and crunchy toasted sunflower seeds.

Ingredients

Dressing

100 ml milk

100 ml water

1 egg, beaten

4 tsp (20 ml) lemon juice

2 tsp (10 ml) cornflour

1 tsp (5 ml) sugar

1 tbsp (15 ml) wholegrain mustard

¼ tsp (1,2 ml) salt

lemon juice and black pepper to taste

Salad

300 g broccoli, cut into florets

1 red or green apple with the skin, cut into thin wedges

1 celery stalk, thinly sliced

⅓ cup (80 ml) sunflower seeds, toasted (see tip)

Method

1. Dressing: Mix half the milk and the rest of the ingredients until well combined, without any lumps.
2. Pour mixture into a small pot and bring to a gentle simmer over a low heat, while stirring continuously. The sauce will start to thicken after 2-3 minutes, but don’t let it boil too fast.
3. Season with more lemon juice and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce into a bowl, stir in remaining milk and allow to cool.
4. Salad: Place broccoli in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand for 10-12 minutes or until bright green and still crunchy. Drain well and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain very well and pat dry.
5. Mix broccoli with apple and celery in a large bowl. Toss through the sauce and sprinkle with seeds. Serve immediately.

Tip

1. Toast sunflower seeds in a dry pan, without any oil, over a medium heat until golden brown. Take care as they burn easily.
2. This salad is best served on the day, so if you have any dressing left over, keep that separate to use on another salad.  

Image by Adel Ferreira Photography, courtesy of Cooking from the heart SA.