This is my perfect weeknight salad. I like to start the week off on the lighter side… less breads, less starches. It often goes downhill from there… by Thursday it could be all cakes & cocktails, but come Monday it’s time to get it back together. Which still doesn’t mean eating bland food…
I love this salad for it’s balance of bright flavors and variety of textures: the salty ricotta salata, a pop of tartness from the dried cranberries, a meaty bite from the roasted broccoli, crunch from the pine nuts. It’s brought together with a simple sweet & mellow apple cider honey vinaigrette.
serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
4 or so cups of lettuce (1 small head)
2 cups broccoli flourettes (plus olive oil, salt & pepper for roasting)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 ricotta salata, crumbled or chopped into tiny cubes
1/4 cup pine nuts
*optional: a protein of your choice: shrimp, chickpeas, tofu, etc.
apple cider & honey vinaigrette: (this might make extra)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 450. Place broccoli flourettes on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until dark brown. (20 minutes or so).
Make the dressing while you wait. In a small saucepan over low heat, heat honey and vinegar until warm. Turn off heat and whisk in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Toast pine nuts in a small skillet for just a couple of minutes until golden brown. Set aside
Assemble salad components. Toss salad with as much or little dressing as you like.
Very healthy flavours indeed! I love the gorgeous red of the cranberries peeking out of the salad.
I have been munching on roasted broccoli salads myself! I think there is no better way to enjoy the little green guys
What a great combination! I’m especially intrigued by the honey vinaigrette–sounds perfect with the broccoli and nuts.
What a great idea to add roasted broccoli. Yum!
This salad looks fantastic. Any salad with cranberries is guaranteed to be tasty. Great post!
Beautiful salad! I love the roasted broccoli in there!
This is a very smart salad! I agree Monday is not just for eating bland food, this is a perfect example.
What a beautiful salad! I adore ricotta salata and buy several wedges whenever I can find it. I will be giving this one a try!
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I made this salad last Friday night and my husband loved it so much he asked for it again Saturday AND Sunday for lunch.
I didn’t have ricotta salata (one of my favourite cheeses, but I forgot to stop at the cheesemonger to pick it up) so I used parmigiano in its place. The salty bite was perfect, but next time I’ll remember the ricotta.
And the vinaigrette – it’ll get many repeat performances at our table.
Thank you for this recipe!