Step aside, lettuce. We’ve got a crunchier, heartier gal in town, and she’s smothered in salty cheese, garlicky high-fiber crunchies, and possibly the best Caesar dressing of all time. She’s here to stay, she’s here to slay, she’s here to save the day.
2bunches broccoli~ 1 pound bunches, or ~ 1 lb florets
Dressing
1/3cupmayo
3tbspGreek yogurt
1/2ozparmfreshly grated
1tbsplemon juice
1lemonzest
1/2tspgarlicminced
1/2tbspextra virgin olive oil
1tspWorcestershire sauce
3/4tspdijon mustard
1/2tspanchovy paste
1/4tspsalt
1/8tsppepper
1/8tspcayenne
¼cupcollagen/unflavored protein
Topping
1/2cupbran flakescrushed
1tspEVOO
1tspgarlicminced
1ozparmfreshly grated
Instructions
Make the dressing. To a medium bowl, add all ingredients under dressing and whisk till everything is fully combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Prep the broccoli. Wash and thoroughly dry your broccoli, then cut the florets off the stems, leaving as little stem as possible to allow the individual florets to be on the smaller side. The smaller they are, the easier they’ll be to eat with a spoon, which is really the holy grail of salad eating IMO.
Add your broccoli florets to a large bowl, pour over your dressing and toss till everything is well coated. Set aside and make your topping. This can be made ahead of time as well, since the broccoli doesn’t get soggy, I think it gets better over the course of a few hours or even overnight!
To a small skillet over medium low heat, add the olive oil. When the olive oil shimmers, add the garlic and cook till fragrant, stirring frequently (about a minute). Then add the crushed bran flakes (I use a mini food processor for this, but you can also add to a Ziplock and beat it with a rolling pin or the like) and a big pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until warm, evenly coated and crispy. Remove from the heat.
Plate your dressed broccoli by mounding it up on a plate (I just think it looks impressive as a broccoli mountain of sorts), then blanket the top with the 1 oz grated parm, sprinkle the garlicky crushed cereal overtop, and serve!
Notes
You can serve this salad right away, but it’s best when it has some time for the broccoli to hang out in the dressing for about an hour or so. If you go that route, refrigerate while it’s doin its thing!
This dressing is incredible, probably the best (non traditional) Caesar salad dressing ever IMO, so I totally recommend making a double batch. That way, if you end up with a bit more broccoli than anticipated, you’ll have extra dressing to toss in.
If you make one recipe’s worth of the dressing and feel like you don’t have enough to dress all your broccoli, add the dressing to the bowl first and add the broccoli a little at a time until it’s dressed the way you like.
I'm a big eater, a huge fan of pasta (and mac n cheese), and I'm on a mission to prove that indulgence and balance can exist well together without silly restrictions or dieting. Life's too short to eat bad food!
