Some toasted almonds, dried cranberries, a shallot and lemon juice blend well with avocado to make a delicious broccoli salad dressing.
                                 Mark Guydish | Times Leader

Some toasted almonds, dried cranberries, a shallot and lemon juice blend well with avocado to make a delicious broccoli salad dressing.

Mark Guydish | Times Leader

Opinions range from ‘fabulous’ to flat-out refusal

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<p>This may be my new favorite broccoli salad recipe, with a fine mix of flavors and an avocado dressing</p>
                                 <p>Mark Guydish | Times Leader</p>

This may be my new favorite broccoli salad recipe, with a fine mix of flavors and an avocado dressing

Mark Guydish | Times Leader

Never liked broccoli as a kid (big surprise) probably because it was usually overcooked and under-dressed (maybe some butter if you were lucky, though I think it might have been one of those vegetables mom tried melting yellow pseudo-cheese on, hardly an enticement).

Grew up to appreciate it raw with a good dip or cooked just enough, and the versatile ways it can be prepped. Somewhere in my adulthood mom came across a really nice broccoli salad recipe with bacon, nuts and a tasty dressing that is still popular among her cooking children, and extremely similar to one MT wrote about for a June, 2020 test kitchen (which is probably why I’ve never done our family’s version for an article).

I caught an episode of America’s Test Kitchen and this variation immediately intrigued, thanks mostly to the avocado dressing but the other stuff sounded great too: Garlic, toasted almonds, dried cranberries, lemon zest. It is my third and (I promise) final recipe from last month’s Valentine’s Day dinner, which also included Italian-style wedding soup, Marry Me chicken and braised red beets.

We loved it, so much so that MT brought home two avocados and two broccoli heads and asked for an encore to accompany some chicken she decided had been in the freezer long enough. I obliged, making a double batch with intent to bring it to the newsroom taste testers the next day. More exactly, MT took it into the newsroom because I didn’t get in until much later in the afternoon that day.

MT’s mom loved this. “I was getting tired of just steaming broccoli,” she said. “This tastes so different, and so good!”

MT called the salad “fabulous,” and upon taking it into the office said she could eat the whole bowl herself.

I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t expect this to be a big hit at the TL. Vegetables are often a maybe to begin with, and I anticipated many would have similar childhood memories that I have.

MT said that when she got there, two of the usual taste testers were out of the office and a third had a hatred for broccoli that precluded even trying it. A fourth was very interested in the “broccoli” part, but appeared crestfallen at the mention of “avocado.”

“I think I’m allergic to avocados,” she said.

News editor Roger DuPuis did taste it and said, “I like it a lot. The dried cranberries are an especially nice touch.”

And reporter Jen Learn-Andes said, “It’s really good. I like the sweetness and the crunch from the nuts and Craisins.”

I have two suggestions from my own experience.

First, while the chef at ATK explained at some length how to use the stalk as well as the florets of the broccoli, in my experience most supermarkets won’t have the stalk attached (none of the three heads used in the making of this article had any real stalk), and for me the thickest part of the stalk, from whence all florets flourish, was too thick to bother with. As near as I can tell from the video, the chef skipped that part even while using the thinner stalk, pared quite a bit with a peeler.

Second, if you do like broccoli and avocado, consider increasing the amount of the dressing. Both times I made this it felt like it could have used at least 50% more to fully (and more easily) coat the broccoli. Although, maybe that would have overpowered all the other flavors.

Dobru Chut!

Broccoli Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing (America’s Test Kitchen)

1 head broccoli

1 avocado

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup toasted almond slices

1 shallot, thinly sliced

Cut broccoli florets into one-inch pieces. Trim off bottom of stalk and top branches that had florets. Peel woody part off stalk. Cut stalk in half lengthwise, then cut those width wise into ¼ inch pieces. Bring 1 cup water to boil, add ½ teaspoon salt, then add broccoli stalk pieces, then put florets on top. Cover pan and cook about three minutes until bright green and starting to become tender. Drain and plunge into ice water to stop cooking. Let sit about two minutes to cool completely. Drain from ice water and set on triple layer of paper towels on a dish to dry.

To make the dressing, halve and pit the avocado , then score each half inside into one-inch strips. Scoop out of skin into food processor. Add extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, minced garlic, ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and pulse until creamy, season to taste.

Put broccoli in a serving bowl, add cranberries, almonds and shallot. Toss and serve.

Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish