Anna's Broccoli Salad

SKU:
Anna was our beloved daycare provider and is ohana exemplified. She treated us like family from day one. We would pick up our baby birdie and often left with minestrone, apricot jam, even simple leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches.  


Be not afraid of bacon. Just don’t eat it every day.

Ingredients

6 (or so) slices of bacon
At least two heads of broccoli flowers
A handful of pine nuts, toasting optional
A couple handfuls of dried cranberries (sweetened)
​Dressing
A big serving-spoon-sized dollop of mayonnaise
1T of red wine, apple cider, or American vinegar
1T of white sugar (to taste)

What To Do

Dice bacon. Cut broccoli into slightly smaller than bite-sized pieces and dump into a salad bowl. Cook bacon and then drain on paper towels. The cooked bacon pieces and broccoli should be about the same size (see photo).

This is to have nuts, cranberries, bacon and broccoli in a single mouthful.

Add cooked bacon pieces, nuts, and cranberries into the salad bowl with the broccoli. Add just enough mayonnaise to hold everything together. Add vinegar, and then slowly add sugar. Adjust with more mayo, vinegar, or sugar to your taste.

Notes and Talking Story

  • This is very much a flexible, forgiving recipe. Adore bacon? Add more of it. Swap pine nuts for cashews or pistachios. Prefer raisins? That works too. 
  • A hockey-loving friend has swapped honey-roasted peanuts for pine nuts, and agave syrup for sugar.
  • Another friend who has swapped many a school potluck item with us uses about half of finely chopped red onion and roasted sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts and cranberries. Both great edits!
  • The caveat here is to take a light touch on sugar.  
  • Do not recommend Japanese vinegars for this one.

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