This Broccoli Salad with Peanut Dressing Is Our Only Memorial Day Plan
The appearance of raw broccoli—say, on a crudités platter—doesn't exactly get our taste buds tingling. Dry stalks and tiny broccoli flowers between your teeth is nobody's best look. But when we devoured the broccoli salad from beloved pizza spots Emily and Emmy Squared and realized it was raw broccoli, we did a double-take. Served over the creamiest peanut dressing and sprinkled with dried sour cherries, it changed our minds about raw cruciferous for good.
“The last thing that I was expecting when I ordered that salad was for them to send out a raw head of broccoli,” says senior food editor Chris Morocco. “I thought there was a certain chutzpah, and then you realize the dressing underneath is so thick and rich. It’s a perfect counterweight to the squeaky rawness of broccoli florets, and the sour cherries are the perfect counterweight to the intensity of the dressing and the raw, vegetal brightness of the broccoli.”
Keeping this textural interplay in mind, Morocco developed a lightning-fast recipe to celebrate his newfound appreciation of raw broccoli. Its luxuriously rich sauce is quickly formed by whisking together creamy peanut butter, unseasoned rice vinegar, soy sauce, grated ginger, salt, and a touch of sugar. “The peanut butter gives you an instant savory base that has such incredible power to flavor other things,” says Morocco. This sauce will keep in the fridge for up to a week, so go ahead and make it in advance if you’re especially organized.
The salad itself uses as much broccoli as possible, using both bite-size florets and peeled broccoli stems. Once the tough green exterior fibers are removed, broccoli stems are surprisingly delicious! You might even prefer the stem to florets. Thinly sliced Persian cucumbers and a small daikon radish provide maximum crunch, and the whole mixture is simply coated with olive oil, rice vinegar, and salt.
Finally, it’s time to plate. Taking time to arrange each component may feel fussy, but it really brings the whole dish together. It’s also super easy: Just spoon the peanut dressing onto a platter and arrange the salad on top, then sprinkle some dried tart cherries and a few cilantro springs. Each forkful should combine creaminess, crunch, and a pop of sweetness.
There's never a bad time for salad, but we think this dish is particularly perfect for a sunny Memorial Day picnic. It’s easily prepped and assembled, and it's a perfect replacement, or complement, for that mayo-y pasta salad. Serve it alongside extra-juicy turkey burgers or bring it to a party, where we promise it'll change all the other raw broccoli–skeptics' minds.
Break out the broccoli:
Broccoli Salad with Peanut Dressing
