Broccoli Salad with Lettuce, Cucumbers and Parmesan

Broccoli

1. Make broccoli salad only with young, fresh broccoli that is green. Signs of yellowing mean it is overripe and no good to use. For the salad, the broccoli should be cooked briefly.

2. Cut the broccoli florets off the stalk.

   

3. Cook the florets. I suggest two ways. The first and simplest: put the florets in a bowl and pour over freshly boiled water from the kettle for 2-3 minutes. The second way: boil the broccoli in lightly salted water for 2-3 minutes. The florets should turn bright green and stay crisp.

4. Drain the hot water (or tip the broccoli into a colander) and cool the florets with cold water, preferably running. Be sure to let the remaining water drain off.

   

Vegetables and dressing

1. You can replace the lettuce with any other, including “bitter” varieties or arugula. Cherry tomatoes can be replaced with regular tomatoes, but remove the seeds first, or there will be too much liquid.

2. Wash the lettuce leaves and pat them dry.

3. Tear the leaves with your fingers into pieces and put them in a salad bowl.

4. Cut the cucumber into large cubes and add it to the bowl. A juicy young cucumber doesn’t need peeling.

5. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Regular tomatoes should be seeded and cubed, otherwise the broccoli salad will be too wet.

6. Add the prepared broccoli florets to the bowl. Salt the salad – just a little – and add a couple of pinches of dried oregano. Sesame seeds are a great addition to this salad. You can use white or black seeds.

   

7. Gently toss the vegetables.

8. Mix the olive oil with a few drops of balsamic vinegar. Whisk the mixture with a fork.

9. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss again.

   

Serving

1. Divide the salad among bowls.

2. Shave a piece of Parmesan into strips with a knife and sprinkle them over the salad. You can also use ready-grated cheese – just sprinkle it over before serving.

   The salad doesn’t need chilling – vegetables are tastiest and most fragrant at room temperature. It works as a dish on its own or as a vegetable side for fried meat.

   Variations:

   • in summer, when vegetables are plentiful, you can add young carrots, assorted herbs and radishes;
   • Parmesan can be replaced with a similar cheese – Grana Padano or Pecorino;
   • instead of balsamic vinegar, use lemon or lime juice;
   • along with the sesame seeds, you can add shelled sunflower and pumpkin seeds.