Devillish Broccoli & Egg Salad

For a sweet, simple, little salad this required an annoying amount of advance preparation. I thought it was worth it though, and none of it is hard. You just have to plan ahead.

It's not really a side salad; it's pretty close to  meal in itself. It's light enough that I suggest a really nice roll and butter to be served with it, or possibly serve it as part of an assortment of salads. A potato or grain salad would add that little bit of heft that is lacking. I really like a salad bar type menu for summer entertaining and this would fit into that very nicely.

If you don't eat bacon you could replace it with something else to provide that little hit of salty something. Roasted salted pumpkin or sunflower seeds would do the trick quite nicely.

2 to 4 servings
45 minutes prep time in 2 separate sessions
30 minutes advance cooking, 15 minutes final prep

Advance Cooking:
4 large eggs
6 slices bacon
1 bunch broccoli

Put the eggs in a pot and cover them with water. Bring them to a boil and boil for one minute, then turn off the heat but leave them, covered, in the pot for a further 10 minutes. Rinse in cold water until cool and set aside until needed.

Cut the bacon into small bits and cook in a skillet over medium-high heat until quite crisp, stirring frequently. Remove them to a sheet of paper towel to drain and cool. Set aside until needed.

Put a pot of water on for the broccoli. Wash, trim, and chop the broccoli fairly finely - small bite sized pieces. When the water boils, add them and cover the pot. Cook for 3 minutes then rinse in cold water until cool. Drain very well and set aside until needed.

Make the Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise (light is fine)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon horseradish
freshly ground black pepper to taste
the finely grated zest of 1 lemon
the juice of 1/2 lemon

Mix the mustard, horseradish, pepper and lemon zest into the mayonnaise until smooth and well blended. Add the lemon juice and mix again. Taste the dressing; you may want to add just a little more of the mustard and/or the horseradish, keeping in mind that the dressing will taste much less strong once it is tossed with the salad.

Finish the Salad:
1/2 cup chopped sweet Spanish onion
a bit of salt
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
a sprinkle of sweet, spicy, or smoked Hungarian paprika

Peel and chop the onion. Place it in a colander and sprinkle it with a little salt. Let it drain while you prepare the rest of the salad. (I actually suggest doing this just before you make the salad dressing.) Wash, drain, and chop the parsley.

Mix the broccoli, bacon bits, and parsley in a salad bowl. Rinse and drain the onion thoroughly, then mix it in as well. Toss in the dressing.

Peel and cut the eggs in eighths. Mix them in very gently. Sift a bit of paprika over the top of the salad if you like.




Last year at this time I made Beet Salad with Berries & Nuts.

Posted in: Ontario Food