Rosie Makes Broccoli Salad. And Tuna.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love a good vegetable salad and this broccoli salad is wonderful as a side dish or as one of those stand-in-front-of-the-open-refrigerator-and-eat dishes.  It leaves you wanting more.

 

Rosie's Broccoli Salad:

1 head broccoli, stems peeled, chopped, and blanched

1 apple, cored, peeled, and diced, doused with lemon juice

1 cup "Salad Topper" 

Mix all ingredients. 

For the “Salad Topper,” you could certainly buy all these ingredients separately, but I found an assortment already put together – “Salad Topper” by Modern Mill.   They’re in the supermarket crouton section. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               There are numerous varieties of “Salad Topper” containing various combinations of dried fruits, nuts, beans, and seeds, but for this particular dish, I recommend the “Ranch” version with cranberries, cherries, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and ranch chickpeas.

 

 

For your culinary pleasure, here are the other combinations of salad toppers, so you can pick and choose:   

Ranch -  cranberries, cherries, walnuts, sunflower seeds, ranch chickpeas

Omega - cranberries, figs, almonds, walnuts, cherries, pumpkin seeds

Protein -  edamame, cranberries, cashews,  sunflower seeds

Summer Symphony - cranberries, blueberries, cherries, pecans, sunflower seeds 

Antioxidant - cranberries, honey roasted almonds, mango, blueberries, pumpkin seeks, sunflower seeds 

Maple Bacon - cranberries, maple pecans, bacon-flavored lentils, pumpkin seeds 

Farm Fresh - figs, walnuts, almonds, cherries, pumpkin seeds 

Take your pick and experiment. 

   To blanch broccoli, bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Drop the broccoli pieces in and cook for one minute.  Strain the broccoli, then immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water to shock it and stop the cooking process.  The end result of blanching and shocking is perfectly cooked vegetables that retain their color and texture. Drain the broccoli and blot dry.

Dressing:

1 heaping TB mayonnaise

1 TB buttermilk 

2 TB sugar

2 TB cider vinegar

Mix well, pour over broccoli mixture, and toss until well-coated. 

 

Previously, I had served my broccoli salad with some tuna bites, which turned the tuna appetizer into a solidly good meal.  I liked it so much that I wanted MORE TUNA - as in the whole steak.

 

 I liked the patterns here - on the tuna and the shell.

 

 

   

For the tuna, I seasoned both sides with Togarashi seasoning, Lawry's Seasoned Pepper, and brown sugar. Rub the seasoning in.   Heat a cast iron skillet to 425°.  Add in a tablespoon each of oil and butter.  When the butter finishes sputtering and sizzling, place the tuna steaks in.  These were 1-inch + thick tuna fillets.  For rare, cook 90 seconds on first side, turn over and cook 60 seconds on flip side.  Remove from pan. 

 

 

 

  Deglaze pan with a little orange juice (maybe a cup) and Tamari sauce, (1-2 TB) scraping up all the goody bits.  That's where the flavor is.

    Pour pan juices over tuna fillets and serve.

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy.