Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Pecans

By mirandavoegeli

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 to 2 about 1 1/2 to 2 lbs. broccoli
• 4 or 5 strips of thick-cut, nitrate free bacon
• 1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans
• 1/3-1/2 cup tart dried cherries (hopefully you can find tart cherries, the kind with no sugar added, if you can’t you can use regular dried cherries, or golden raisins)
• 4 green onions, cleaned and thinly sliced, white and light green portions only
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup good quality mayonnaise (home made, if you can swing it)
• 1 clove of garlic, smashed and chopped to a paste
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1/2 tsp. salt plus more to taste
• black pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Wash the broccoli and cut the heads off of the stems. Chop the heads into individual florets (not too small yet, though). Chop the bottom, toughest portion off of the broccoli stems, then use a vegetable peeler to peel the stems. Cut the peeled stems into matchsticks.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the broccoli to the water and cook it until it is just bright green and starting to get tender, a minute or two. Drain the broccoli into a colander and run cold water over it to stop the cooking. Set aside.
Cook the bacon in a medium frying pan over medium heat until it is nicely browned and crispy on both sides. Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined sheet to drain. (And pour a little of the bacon grease into your dog’s food. She’ll be psyched!).
Chop the cooked broccoli into small, bite sized pieces and put it into a large salad bowl. Add the toasted pecans, cherries, and greens onions.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, mayonnaise, garlic, mustard, vinegar, honey, salt, and a good grinding of fresh black pepper. Toss the salad with the dressing. If you’d like, let it sit in the fridge for a couple hours before serving. Or, you can serve it still slightly warm from the broccoli cooking. It’s pretty tasty either way. Just before serving, chop the cooked bacon into small pieces and toss it in with the rest of the salad. Taste and add more salt and pepper to taste. Then, serve!