Every year I like to try a new side dish for Thanksgiving. I usually choose cooked vegetables because I feel they go better with the rest of the dinner. This year for a change I’ll introduce a broccoli salad to my usual menu. The recipe is inspired by a dish I found years ago on Taste of home. It’s an easy salad to assemble, and should be prepared one hour in advance, which is very helpful when you have one dish less to think about before guests arrive.

Quality ingredients are important for good results. Don’t buy the broccoli florets in the plastic bags, they’re already dry and have lost part of their flavor, not to mention their properties. It will take a little bit more time to prepare the salad, but your efforts will be worth it. I bought mine at my local farmer and made the salad right away. The broccoli were so fresh that I used part of the stem too. The day after broccoli were still crispy and didn’t get soggy at all. Buy your tangerines fresh, don’t even think about getting them canned. Be careful when choosing your mayonnaise, make sure it doesn’t have honey or spices in it. It should only contain eggs, oil and vinegar otherwise it will change the flavor of your salad.

If you don’t like raw broccoli, you can always blanch them in hot water for less than a minute. I personally love them raw and crispy. We don’t usually eat raw broccoli in Italy. I learned on my first visit to the States when I encountered a plate of raw veggies and cheese dip. It was love at first sight, for raw broccoli,  cauliflower and cheese dip as well.  I wish all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving a happy one with friends and family.

Broccoli salad with tangerines

Ingredients:

8 cups broccoli florets, about 3 1/2 heads of broccoli
7 tangerines, clementines or mandarin oranges
6 thin bacon strips, cooked and crumbled, 1/2 cup when crumbled
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup sultanas raisins, soaked in lukewarm water for 20 minutes then dried
1/2 cup toasted unsalted cashews

For the salad dressing
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. mayonnaise (without sugar)
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. Greek yogurt
1-2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tablespoons white or apple cider vinegar

Preparation:

In a small bowl, whisk mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, sugar and vinegar. Cover and refrigerate.
In the meantime cook the bacon slices, in a nonstick pan, until golden brown. Place them on a paper towel to eliminate the grease and then crumble them.
In a large bowl add broccoli, tangerines, onion, bacon and raisins. Add the dressing and combine well. Cover the salad and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Before serving sprinkle the salad with the cashews and mix well. If you let the cashews soak too long they’ll loose their crunchiness.