The Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Old School Broccoli Salad (Bacon and Pepitas!) with a Twist

Now and again I’m reminded that so many of the great recipes we all enjoy today are really just updates of classics that have been around for decades (or longer); today’s Old School Broccoli Salad (Bacon and Pepitas!) with a Twist is a perfect example.

Though the details are a bit fuzzy, I remember as a young child decades ago turning my nose up at a fresh broccoli salad prepared by my Ma-Ma (maw maw, maternal grandmother) at her beach house on the Texas coast.

She was a GREAT old-style, Texas coastal cook – she could work wonders with fresh shrimp, fish, and crab, and spent many an hour slaving over a blistering gas stove in the un-air conditioned kitchen cranking out meals for the clan that always seemed to be in attendance.

I’m sure her broccoli salad (with a classic mayo or Miracle Whip based dressing) was damned tasty as well, though to my 6 or 7 year old mind at the time, it was worth a hard-fought battle to avoid even touching it, much less eating it. We didn’t eat fresh broccoli back in the day around our house, and the frozen blocks of broccoli that were available back in the day didn’t convert many broccoli skeptics around our dinner table.

Fresh broccoli salad still showed up on the buffet tables of my youth at family, friend, and church gatherings, and I’m sure somewhere along the way I’m mustered up the courage to try some (probably to please some girlfriend’s mother or aunt); the dish otherwise stayed off our radar until years later.

Living in San Antonio during graduate school was an eye-opening experience in so many ways, including the burgeoning foodie culture there. As Texas is today, San Antonio was a melting pot of a variety of food cultures and traditions, and among those were some great classic Texas barbecue sides – including updated broccoli salads.

These were still largely mayo-based, but included toasted nuts (often pepitas or pecans, red onions, bacon, and raisins, dried cranberries, or even dried peaches from Fredericksburg.

Over the years we found ourselves subbing in a mustardy or balsamic based vinaigrette for the classic mayo dressing, and have finally settled on this mustard-based version as our standby.

Several thoughts on the dressing – I usually end up using half avocado oil and half good EVOO for the oils, and we find that while any vinegar works here, the combination of apple cider vinegar and red wine vinegar is our favorite. Likewise use any mustard you want, classically it would have to be Dijon, though I’ve been using a coarse, spicy mustard of late with this recipe and it’s incredibly tasty.

The recipe is written to make a big batch, we usually eat it all the day it’s made, but this is one of those rare salads that gets better over the next day or two.

1 and 1/2 pounds broccoli florets, chopped
1/2 cup* toasted pepitas (almonds, sun flower seeds, pecans, etc)
1/2 cup* red onion, chopped fine
1/2 cup* crispy bacon, chopped medium (3-4 slices)
1/2 cup* dried tart cherries or cranberries
Optional
1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed, cut into thin slices
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced or grated coarsely
(*or more)

Dressing (see note above)
1/4 cup avocado oil
1/4 cup EVOO (the good stuff)
3-4 tbsp good vinegar (ACV, red wine vinegar, etc)
1-2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1-2 tbsp good honey or maple syrup
1-2 large garlic clove (minced or pressed)
2-3 tsp good fresh ground pepper
1/2 – 1 tsp fine sea salt

Toast the pepitas, and cook, cool, and chop the bacon.

Prep the vegetables and place in a large bowl, add the optional dried fruit, nuts, and bacon.

Mixed all dressing ingredients in a small bowl or lidded jar, then whisk / shake until well combined and emulsified. Taste and adjust for acid/vinegar, mustard, sweet, and salt.

Pour the dressing over the vegetables in the bowl, stirring to mix well, evenly distributing all the goodies and coating them evenly with the dressing. Chill for at least 30 minutes before giving the salad a good stir at service.

Enjoy.