Broccoli Salad with Peanut Dressing

April has not been good for blogging. The Day Job will eventually destroy me, and this month was a clear reminder of that. I will spare you the boring details.

You know what’s not boring, though? Spicy peanut dressing! Pour it over some blanched broccoli and edamame enhanced with green onion and topped with peanuts and you have a rather satisfying lunch.

I adapted this recipe from one I found on Pinterest. I wasn’t sure I needed to blanche the broccoli, but, since each bite of this salad is mainly broccoli, it certainly does make it easier to eat. Blanched broccoli also has a texture more compatible with the slightly chewy edamame. You could add other vegetables to this salad, too, such as bell peppers, sugar snap peas, or green beans, and if you want it all very crunchy, you could probably forgo blanching.

I really love the peanut dressing for this salad, which is thick and savory and sweetened with a bit of honey. I roughly doubled the volume of dressing from the original recipe, and added some Sriracha for heat. I kept the spice moderate, but you could certainly adjust to your personal taste. (But, really, spicy is better, right?)

We (two of us) ate this whole batch of salad for lunch, but if you want to serve it as a side dish, you could get more like four servings out of it. You could also probably double the recipe, though you may want to blanche the broccoli in two batches if you do. And doubling this recipe might just be a good idea, so you can either keep eating it or save some leftovers for later. Actually, I don’t know if this salad keeps well or not. We devoured consumed it all immediately. I guess I’ll have to make some more to find out. Perhaps a double batch.

Broccoli and Edamame Salad with Peanut Dressing

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

You can replace the honey in the dressing with agave nectar or maple syrup to make it vegan.

4 cups small broccoli florets

1 cup frozen edamame

½ cup thinly sliced green onions

¼ cup smooth peanut butter

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons roasted peanut oil (or sesame oil)

2 teaspoons Sriracha (or other hot sauce), or to taste

½ cup chopped roasted peanuts

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water.

2. When the water is boiling, add the broccoli. Boil for 2 minutes. Add the edamame. Cook for about 30-45 seconds more. Remove the blanched broccoli and edamame from the boiling water with a skimmer or slotted spoon. Plunge into the ice water to stop cooking. Allow to stand in the ice water until cooled. Drain very well.

3. To make the dressing, combined the peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, peanut oil, and Sriracha in a small bowl. Whisk until very smooth. Pour the dressing over the drained broccoli and edamame and toss to coat well. Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts.

Makes about 4 side dish servings or 2 big main dish servings.

Other recipes like this one: Peanutty Noodles, Broccoli with Sweet and Spicy Almond Sauce, Sweet and Tart Broccoli Salad, Broccoli and Chickpea Salad with Mustard Pepper Dressing

17 Favorite Spring Recipes

In the spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of vegetables, greens, herbs and rhubarb. Or it ought to, anyway. All of our fancies should be turning to these lovely edibles, especially since we’ve been deprived of good examples of them for so many months.

The snow is gone here, except in the shadiest places, so even though not much is growing yet (my tulips are coming up!) and the outdoor farmer’s market is another month in coming, I’m looking for ingredients in the stores to help me celebrate spring. I’m thinking radishes, asparagus, peas, delicate greens and herbs.

Here are 17 of my favorite spring recipes from The Messy Apron Archives. Each part of a decent meal can hold its own in representing this magical season, from appetizer to dessert.

Bright green and fresh tasting this Green Pea Hummus can be made with frozen peas. You don’t have to wait for your garden to grow to get a taste of the season.

I get locally-grown salad greens as early as I can, and am happy to support the growers who cheat the season by putting hot houses into action. The earliest baby greens are good with a simple Feta and Lemon Vinaigrette, but this Buttermilk Herb Salad Dressing is appropriate for crisp greens and delicate greens alike.

And, I love this Coconut Lime Salad Dressing, which is also great on warm noodles.

 

Arugula and spinach come early have a home in the salad bowl, but each is delicious when combined with select flavorings and processed into pesto. Arugula Pesto with Kalamata Olives is sharp and hearty, while this Spinach Chive Pesto takes advantage of the earliest growth of fresh chives.

This ultra-simple salad, Fresh Peas with Mint, celebrates any sweet home-grown peas you can get right out of the garden.

As soon as I can get some delightfully fresh asparagus, I make this Sesame Soy Asparagus with Garlic and Ginger. Even though it is laced with Asian flavors, I’ll serve it on the side of just about anything.

I can hardly wait to get my hands on the ingredients for Sugar Snap Pea and Radish Salad with Feta and Dill. It’s one of my favorite dishes all on its own for a light meal, or next to a simply-flavored protein.

Pasta-based meals are my go-to year round, and spring offers some of the best options, like Pasta with Asparagus, Snap Peas, and Lemon

And Asparagus and Pasta with Balsamic Tarragon Sauce and Bacon

Asparagus, peas, and anything else you love can all go into this delicately flavored Spring Vegetable Risotto.

For a main-dish salad, I love this Shrimp and Pea Macaroni Salad.

While berries really only come into my area in very late spring or early summer, rhubarb comes in early, even to the big patch in my back yard. I’ll take whatever strawberries I can, however, to go with my rhubarb in this Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce, which is great on this simple cake, on vanilla ice cream or stirred into yogurt.

 

Strawberries and rhubarb can be scheduled for many, many playdates together, of course, like one that could result in this Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Graham Cracker Topping.

 

And rhubarb on its own makes a fine dessert as well, especially in this Rhubarb Pudding Cake

And these Rhubarb Custard Bars.

I hope you are as excited about spring dining as I am. The winter has been harsh, but the sun is shining and green things are coming. And a whole meal stuffed with spring delicacies is certainly something to which to turn our thoughts of love.

Other posts like this one: Featured Ingredient: Asparagus, Featured Ingredient: Rhubarb, Featured Ingredient: Sugar Snap Peas, Favorite Vehicles for Maple Syrup

One year ago: Featured Ingredient: Fresh Herbs