Broccoli Salad With Bacon

Try this experiment - stand in a roomful of non-vegetarians and ask, "How many of you do not much like broccoli?" At least 17 out of 20 hands will shoot up into the air. Now ask, "How many of you are not fond of bacon?" I can bet that, even in a worst case scenario, a maximum of 4 - 5 hands will go up and sometimes not even that. Fact of the matter is that broccoli health benefits are numerous, but very few people actually believe in eating helpful greens than succumbing to the taste tantrums of their tongues.

Well, sure enough, you have to devise ways to feed them broccoli in ways that will also cater to their taste demands and one sure shot way to make them like what they eat is by digging out a fantastic recipe for broccoli salad with bacon and then following it.

Now, even though the calories for this salad version is a high 559 per serving, you can make it for a once in a while cozy get together of 6! Gather,

• Broccoli, 1 head (fresh and diced into bite-sized florets)
• Bacon slices, 10
• Sunflower seeds, 1 cup
• Mayonnaise, 1 cup
• Raisins, ½ cup
• Red onion, ¼ cup (shredded)
• White wine vinegar, 3 tbsp.
• Sugar, 2 tbsp.

Procedure
Deep-fry bacon slices until golden brown, place on tissues to soak up excess oil, and then crumble. Now, commingle the broccoli, raisins, and onion in a large mixing bowl and allow it to stand for a while. In the meantime, whip together the mayo, vinegar, and sugar until it is a smooth paste and then pour it over the veggie mixture. Now, toss thoroughly to cake the veggies well with the mayo mix and then place it in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.

After that, you can add the sunflower seeds and the crumbled bacon to this, toss one final time and servez votre salade. You may use low-fat mayonnaise if you wish to cut down on the fat content, but since I am not too keen on sugar substitutes, I stick to my white powdered or granulated sugar. You may also add a dash of lemon juice from top for that tangy twist to this broccoli salad recipe!

I love this salad as I am majorly into cheese. You will need,

• Broccoli, 2½ lbs. (fresh and diced into bite-sized florets)
• Bacon slices, 1 lb. (deep-fried and crumbled)
• Sharp cheddar, 1 cup (Parmesan also works fine)
• Mayonnaise, 1 cup
• Sugar, ½ cup
• Vinegar, ¼ cup

Procedure
Just blend the mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar together. Ruffle the broccoli florets with the crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese and then pour the mayo mix from top. Now toss well and cover to refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours, before serving. You may use whole bacon slices for this broccoli-bacon salad and not crumble them.

This salad will prove to be a super hit among people with a tangy tooth. Gather around,

• Bacon, 10 to 12 slices (fried and crumbled)
• Broccoli, 2 bunches (cut into 5 to 6 cups of florets, stalks removed)
• Mayonnaise, 1 cup
• Raisins, ½ cup
• Red onion, 1 (medium, chopped)
• Balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp.
• Sugar, 2 tsp.

Procedure
Whisk the mayonnaise, balsamic vinegar, and sugar in a bowl until smooth. Now, throw in the bacon, broccoli, red onion, and raisins into a bigger bowl. Pour the dressing on the veggies from top and then toss super well. Serve chilled.

To make this salad for 6 to 8 servings, gather,

• Farfalle (bow-tie) pasta, (cooked al dente)
• Broccoli, 1 pound
• Bacon, 8 slices (fried and crumbled
• Red grapes, 2 cups (seedless variety, halved)
• Mayonnaise, 1 cup
• Pecans, 1 cup (chopped)
• Sugar, ⅓ cup
• Red onion, ⅓ cup (diced)
• Red wine vinegar, ⅓ cup
• Salt, 1 tsp.

Procedure
Begin by preheating your oven to 350° F and spreading the pecans out in a baking dish in a single layer. Now let the pecans get toasted in the preheated oven for approximately 7 minutes. Remember to stir the pecans once after the first 4 minutes of toasting. Now, separate the broccoli florets from the stalks. Then cut the florets into even smaller pieces. Remove the outer skin of the stalks and chop them up.

Now thoroughly commingle the sugar, mayo, red onion, and vinegar to make the dressing. Throw the broccoli, the grapes, and the cooked pasta into a tossing bowl and pour the dressing from top. Mix really well before refrigerating it for a minimum of 3 hours. Add the bacon bits and the toasted pecans to the chilled salad just before serving it.

Loaded with 340 calories, you can feed 8 people with this preparation. To toss up this salad in less than 25 minutes, you'll need,

• Bacon, 12 slices (fried and crumbled)
• Broccoli, 1 head (diced into florets)
• Cauliflower, 1 head (chopped)
• Red onion, ½ (chopped)

• Creamy salad dressing, 1 cup
• Sunflower seeds or pecans (toasted), ¾ cup
• Sugar, ¼ cup
• White wine vinegar, 1½ tbsp.

Procedure
Blend the sugar and vinegar with the salad dressing in a bowl until smooth. Now, throw in the bacon, broccoli, cauliflower, red onion, and pecans into a bigger bowl. Pour the dressing on the veggies from top and then toss till uniformly commingled. Serve chilled. You can prepare this salad and refrigerate a day before it is to be served.

Since cooking is all about experimenting and constantly discovering the new, you can try adding basil herb, croutons, a few cubes of seasoned boiled potatoes, a dollop of light cream and slivered chestnuts to these broccoli salad with bacon recipes. You never know what gastronomical surprise you might just uncover!