With summer in full swing, what’s a better way to get your veggies than a nice cold cole slaw on a hot day? This broccoli slaw recipe is fast and easy to throw together as a side dish but despite that ease, is still always a crowd-pleaser.
This broccoli slaw recipe uses a bunch of stuff from the spring or fall garden which I sometimes have a hard time finding uses for, like those prolific cabbages and broccoli. It is light yet full of flavor. It is perfect for your Labor Day backyard barbecue. Best of all, it uses up the broccoli stalks which might otherwise go in the trash!! (Check out my post on eating more of your veggie scraps to reduce kitchen waste)
Since we have been starting to use the smoker, I’ve been making more cole slaw. It’s not something I had a lot growing up. No cherished family recipe or anything. So naturally, I have been researching recipes and experimenting with ingredient swaps and substitutions. This combination of ingredients has been one of my faves so far.
How to prepare the broccoli stalk
First of all let me say… stop throwing away your broccoli stalks! Just like beets, you are getting a two-fer deal here for the price of one! Broccoli stalks are entirely edible and taste really great. And they take up a lot of space in the landfill (please don’t throw them away!) They can be prepared in so many different ways… along with the florets or by themselves. They can be roasted, sautéed, grilled, stir-fried, or made into slaw.
If you are growing your own broccoli, you can pick the heads young and tender. That stalk will be all the more sweet AND you are encouraging your broccoli to grow a second set of florets to boot.
Ok, let’s talk about preparing the stalk for making slaw. Generally the outer skin of the stalk is tougher the farther away from the florets. So you’ll want to
- Peel off the outer most, dark green ‘skin’. As you might expect, it is easy to just use a carrot peeler. I like the Y peeler design for the leverage it gives. But the old-fashioned straight (or so-called swivel) peeler works, too. If the broccoli has a lot of ‘branches’, you may find that a paring knife works better for that particular stalk.
- Run the peeled broccoli stalk against a box grater.
That’s it! You’re ready to make broccoli slaw.
Ingredients:
- 2 -3 grated broccoli stalks – or however many you have. You can also throw a few small florets in for color if you want.
- Red cabbage, about a half head, chopped. White or Napa cabbage will also work just fine. The red looks great against the grated broccoli stalks.
- Carrot slivers of one carrot, if you have it. They add great color but otherwise are not critical.
- 3-4 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon
- 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds. (Optional – if you have them! I harvested mine from the sunflowers which grew from bird food that got buried by chipmunks in the orchard!)
- 2 Tbs lemon juice
- 1 Tbs red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Stay away from white vinegar, it is just too pungent for this recipe.
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 1 Tbs Mayonnaise and/or sour cream. I like to keep it light but you could add more if you prefer.
- Salt, pepper and celery seed to your taste
Broccoli slaw recipe
- Combine broccoli, cabbage, carrot, sunflower seeds, bacon and cranberries in a bowl.
- Mix the remaining dressing ingredients together in a separate bowl. Pour the dressing over the slaw. Make sure all of the slaw is coated.
- Chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
