Pre-Summer Greek Salad With Shaved Broccoli and Peppers or Beets

Name: Pre-Summer Greek Salad With Shaved Broccoli and Peppers or Beets
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: greek, mediterranean
Ingredients: 1 small red onion, cut in half lengthwise, then thinly sliced across the grain; 3 good size broccoli stalks (usually 1 bunch; stems and crowns); 1 red bell pepper, cut in thin 2-inch slices, or 2 medium or 4 small beets, roasted, halved and sliced in thin half-moons; Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste; 2 ounces feta, crumbled (about 1/2 cup); 2 tablespoons slivered flat-leaf parsley leaves; 2 tablespoons slivered fresh mint leaves; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice; 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar; 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

By Martha Rose Shulman

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(118)
Notes: Read community notes

Classic Greek salad is a summer dish in my house; impossible to make if tomatoes are not in season and wonderful. But other vegetables take to the same treatment – a simple dressing with a high ratio of acid (in this case a combination of lemon juice and vinegar with olive oil), feta cheese and lots of mint and parsley.

I don’t normally use uncooked broccoli flowers. But in this case, I slice the florets paper-thin, allowing the flower buds to crumble off when I cut the crowns. Cut like this the broccoli yields to the dressing and maintains its brightness for a much longer time than cooked broccoli does. I’ve made this salad combining broccoli with sweet red pepper and combining it with roasted Chioggia beets (yellow beets also work; red ones, however, bleed into the broccoli). I like both versions equally.

Featured in: Broccoli, Stems and All

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 4 to 6

1small red onion, cut in half lengthwise, then thinly sliced across the grain
3good size broccoli stalks (usually 1 bunch; stems and crowns)
1red bell pepper, cut in thin 2-inch slices, or 2 medium or 4 small beets, roasted, halved and sliced in thin half-moons
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2ounces feta, crumbled (about ½ cup)
2tablespoons slivered flat-leaf parsley leaves
2tablespoons slivered fresh mint leaves
1tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1tablespoon sherry vinegar
¼cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Place onion in a bowl and cover with cold water. Soak while you prepare the broccoli (or for at least 5 minutes), then drain and rinse with cold water. Drain on paper towels.
Step 2
Meanwhile, cut broccoli stems away from the crowns and peel. Cut in half and lay on the flat side on your cutting surface. Using a vegetable peeler, shave thin ribbons off the stalks. Place in a bowl. Cut crowns in half and lay flat on your cutting board. Using a chef’s knife, shave off the flower buds and slice paper thin where the stems and florets are attached. Add to the bowl with the stems. Add onion and red pepper or beets. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add herbs and feta.
Step 3
Whisk together lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil. Add to vegetables and toss together. Serve at once or leave to marinate for about 15 minutes before tossing again and serving.

Ratings

4 out of 5

118 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Janet6 years ago

What is the correct amount of oil?

Leslie6 years ago

Definitely wait a day before enjoying unless you like tart, sharp tastes. This dish improves with age. On the second day I added raisins and shredded carrots to soften the edges. It worked like a charm. Very enjoyable and hearty salad.

Pratima4 years ago

Add cucumber, grated carrots

Aistex4 years ago

Made this tonight and loved it! Used golden beets. Bright, healthful and delicious.

marsha4 years ago

Use one stalk broccoli, a quarter red onion and red pepper No feta Chopped almonds

marsha4 years ago

For Red Apron brocolli salad add dried crab berries No mint Add thousand islands dressing as adapted

marsha4 years ago

Add dried cranberries Omit mint Omit sherry vinegar and olive oil Use thousand islands dressing adapted in box Use 1/4 red pepper and slivered 1/4 red onion Add slivered roasted almonds

kmiller4 years ago

This I made but added a 1 tsp of honey to the dressing. Took the acidic edge off.

Sharon6 years ago

Great recipe especially since broccoli is so good for you. But I find the taste of raw broccoli too harsh so par boiled it for a couple minutes. Like soaking the red onion, it takes the edge off. Personal preference but made a difference for me.

Tammy T6 years ago

I will definitely make this again. Very good! Took it to a potluck and everyone liked it. I used beets and more than called for (2-3x more), but I think I used more broccoli, too (~ 5 cups once sliced). Also used only lemon juice (no vinegar) and a bit more of both the acid and the oil.

Alice K.6 years ago

Liked this dish a lot, but had trouble knowing exactly how the author wanted me to cut up the broccoli. I figured it probably didn't make much difference anyway... I used red bell pepper and added more olive oil than called for in the recipe; it seemed too dry. Turned out great.

Marcia6 years ago

I toasted some pepitas that I added just before serving. The little salty crunch provided a nice counterpoint. The next day, needing to use up a little sopressata, I cut into 1/4" strips and stirred it into the salad. Tasty!

Leslie6 years ago

Sherry S6 years ago

Excellent. Marinated for 5 hours before serving. Used more lemon and red wine vinegar.

Tracy6 years ago

This was a really great salad, especially for "pre-summer" when our tomatoes are not great! I definitely think it is best to let this marinate after dressing before eating. I accidentally forgot about it so dressed and ate it right away, it was great, but eating the leftovers a day later was actually even better!

M.6 years ago

So light and refreshing. Really tasty salad. I didn't bother soaking the onion and used jar roasted peppers.

Janet6 years ago

What is the correct amount of oil?

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