This salad is probably the most addictive thing I’ve made in a long time and oh how I need it after the Christmas feasting! Big on garlic, to keep those winter bugs in check.
With calcium-rich and hormone-friendly broccoli, which is also great for the liver and gut. Also with protein-packed chickpeas, this is a meat-free meal in itself. Kids love the garlicky pesto sauce and may even win over the most reluctant broccoli eaters!
Ingredients
Salad
- 450 g Broccoli ( cut into bite-sized florets & blanched)
- 1.5 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
- 0.5 tsp Salt
- 100 ml Olive Oil
- 4 cloves Garlic (minced)
- 60 g Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- 400 g Chickpeas (tinned)
- 30 g Almonds (flaked or whole blanched)
Units
Instructions
- Place all the pesto ingredients into a small blender and whiz up.
- In a large bowl, mix up the red wine vinegar and salt before adding the blanched broccoli florets.
- In a small saucepan heat the oil until it begins to bubble then add the minced garlic and cook for a minute until the garlic begins to brown, then remove from heat. Option here to add a pinch of red chilli flakes if you want some extra kick.
- Pour ¾ of the oil over the broccoli, mix and then cover with a tea towel and leave for 30-40 minutes to infuse.
- Chop the sun dried tomatoes roughly and drain the chickpeas. If the pesto is looking a little thick you can add the remaining oil in the saucepan to it and whiz it again. If it looks good enough, reserve the oil for the broccoli.
- In a dry frying pan, toast the almonds until light brown and fragrant.
- After 30-40 minutes, give the broccoli a stir adding the pesto and oil if not already used, coating it all.
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes and chickpeas to the bowl, and mix well.
- Sprinkle over the toasted almonds and serve.
Recipe Notes
- For dairy-free, substitute the parmesan for 3 tbsp of nutritional yeast.
- For nut-free, substitute almonds for sunflower seeds
