Raw Broccoli Salad

Years ago, I often ordered the broccoli salad at Antonio's in Maitland. It was a wonderful crunchy taste treat, punctuated with bits of pancetta, pine nuts, raisins and laced with a sweet, slightly tangy dressing. Looking at the overabundance of broccoli in the fridge, I decided to attempt putting together a healthier version of that old favorite.

I chopped a couple of spears of broccoli, half a small sweet onion, tossed in some raisins and pine nuts and then dressed the mix with, what's quickly become a favorite dressing, Satay Sauce from Angela Elliot in her Alive in 5 book. It's a zesty combination of citrus, tahini, miso, and nutritional yeast, made even zestier with the addition of cayenne. This turned out to be a perfect sauce for the broccoli salad.

I highly recommend adding Alive in 5 to your cookbook shelves. Even if you aren't 'really into raw', the dressings, sauces and smoothie ideas will give a giant lift to your everyday meal preparations. It's a reasonably priced, soft back book with clear, concise directions and lovely color images of many of the featured dishes. I borrowed it from the library, initially. When I realized how many of the recipes appealed to me, I quickly bought my own copy from Amazon.com.

Here's the plated salad with a sliced Florida tomato.