Broccolini salad…. wow it cannot get any better…
We just came back from a week away on a short half term holiday which was packed woth swimming, cycling and loads of fun. Kids have had an amazing time and so we the adults did sometimes only seeing those little smiley and happy faces. Bless them, they really do fulfil my life.
We arrived home and…. you may have guessed and also know how it is when you get home after being away for a few days, fridge hasn’t got to offer much, you are super hungry and all in all not much in the fridge to tuck in very, very quickly appart from a chunck of cheese or something. Yes, we did snack away on things, we’ve had lunch but we were craving for something nice and light in the light of the night and bed time being just around the corner?.
On the way home (we drove by the way) we did stop over and bought a nice roast chicken amongst other bits and blobs and when we got home we have gathered few ingredients, very few as you can see, and …this salad was on the table in literally 15 minutes if not less. Hubby helped a little with washing the veggies so it was great.
It was an absolute feast. Delicious ?. It was not the first time I have made this super healthy beauty but it was the first time I have used broccolini which I do prefer over broccoli.
What is broccolini…?
You may ask…
Well, unless you have used it/ate it before and you are well aware on its looks and taste, let me introduce this little sweet fella? to you. You may think this is baby broccoli as the way it looks it might appear that way but in reality this is not quite the case. It is a hybrid, a cross between broccoli and the Chinese broccoli that was first created in 1993. It has small florets and longer stalks with very few tiny leaves and they are all edible. I cook and use all as there is nothing you could waste. Unlike broccoli florets which taste a little on the bitterish side, broccolini florets are sweeter and have a slight earthy taste- for me, they are delicious.
Cooked broccolini or raw ?…
It can be both, so you can have either raw in a salad like this broccoli salad where broccoli can be replaced by broccolini but it can also be cooked in various ways like steamed, boiled for literally 1 minte or 2, sauteed, roasted and even grilled.
I do use the stalks for pies sometimes as they can take a little bit of cooking whereas florets cannot without melting away 😉 not really worth cooking it for more than 2-3 min whichever way, it is too delicate and if you take that crunchiness away is a guaranteed spoiled broccolini.
Swede, raw broccolini and roast chicken salad
Ingredients
- 200 g Swede
- 300 g roast chicken
- 2 small carrots
- 1 larger red onion
- 1 pepper
- 1 red chilli
- 2 tbsp mayo
- 3 tbsp Greek style yoghurt I used a 2% fat
- 1 tbsp salad cream
- 1 generous pinch of Freshly ground pepper
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 cloves garlic crushed and finely chopped
- 1/2 lime juice
Instructions
- Peel wash and grate the swede.
- Peel wash and chop the carrot into desired size. You can grate this too or make it into little shaves just like i did using a vegetable peeler.
- Take out a large bowl and add the shredded chicken, grated swede, the carrot, the chopped onion, the garlic crushed and chopped finely, the chopped green (or whatever colour you fancy or have) pepper and the finely chopped chilli. Mix all for 30 seconds with the help of two forks or spoons.
- In a separate little bowl mix all the sauce ingredients (the yoghurt, lime juice, salad cream and mayo, a little salt and pepper. Mix to hommogenise.
- Pour over the ingredients the sauce, mix a little more and enjoy.
Notes
This looks delicious! What beautiful color!
Thank you Lisa ?
Ramona those colours look fantastic! My husband loves raw swede when we are preparing it to cook but this is such a great idea of making the veggies raw and crunchie. Can’t wait to try!
Thank you Amanda.? It’s a great way to have veggies. It’s super refreshing and goes well with meats or just on its own. ?
I love to make salads like this with rotisserie chicken!! This one is definitely going on my list to make!
Thank you Pam, yes, this salad is pretty versatile, it’s good for parties, picnics, lunch at work tucked into a pita bread, you name it. It’s nice and refreshing too. ?