Magic Broccoli and Carrot Salad

Guys, I’m not kidding when I say that this Broccoli and Carrot Salad is some kind of magic!

Just wait until you hear what makes me say that and I’m almost certain you’ll totally agree with me. Or perhaps you won’t even believe me and will need to experience it for yourself, first!

But anyway, hear me out. When I made this salad, a couple of weeks ago, I had a very specific intent in mind. Wait… make that two. Firstly, I wanted to log the recipe for the benefit of a few people who had requested it on Instagram. But, since I’d just recently made a batch and ate it all to myself, I decided that I would bring it as one of my contributions to my baby grand-daughter‘s “Welcome to this World” pot-luck dinner party, my other contribution being the official “Welcome Baby” cake my daughter had asked me to make.

The party was scheduled for the Saturday, so I made the salad on the Wednesday, knowing full well that I would be running like mad and dedicating whatever free time I had on the Thursday and Friday to work on that very important cake. (there wasn’t even time for me to take pictures, and I forgot to take my camera to the party!!! YAY ME! At least my daughter managed to snatch these few shots for me) 

The day after the party, I was trying to make some room in my fridge and butted against this big white ceramic bowl way in the back of the bottom shelf. I thought to myself “what the …?”, reached for the intruder and removed it from its hiding place, only to come face to face with this… you guessed it: Broccoli and Carrot Salad! With all the excitement surrounding the making of the cake and organizing the party, I’d TOTALLY forgotten about the salad. GAH!

It was now Sunday… the dish had been in the fridge for 4 days already! There was enough to feed a crowd, and there was only one of me to eat it. How in the world was I gonna manage to finish it all by myself before it went bad? Especially now that I’m following a “cutting” diet with very specific macros; this salad was WAY to high in fat for me to finish it within 2 to 3 days… I would have needed at least 10!

And how about pictures? Not only had I not had time to take pictures of the cake, but I’d totally forgotten to immortalize the finished salad! Surely it looked all tired and wilted by now! I removed the plastic film, and THIS is what I revealed:

FOUR DAYS in the fridge and the salad still looked THIS good, this fresh!

WOW! Needless to say I was impressed, so I decided to at least, go ahead and finish the shoot so I could log and share the recipe… that way all would not have been lost!

I still needed to find a solution so I could eat it, though. I refused to let it go to waste, and driving over 200km to bring it to my daughter was not an option. I had to think of something.

Then it hit me: the problem was with the fat content. If I could eliminate the mayo, then I could very well eat the entire bowl of salad to myself within the next 3 to 4 days and still respect my daily macros. There was only one way to do that: I had to rinse the salad. Yeah, you read that one right. Better try that than have it go to waste! (Hey! Stop laughing, will you? I can hear you all the way from here!)

So I went ahead and rinsed the salad under cold running water, half expecting that I would end up with a very bland and watery, completely unpalatable salad. Much to my surprise, it was still INCREDIBLY delicious and remained that way for another 4 days.

Now I’m not saying that you should add mayo to your salad and then rinse it off… but I’m definitely saying that you should give this salad a try, with or without the mayo.

For really, I say that a salad that’s still fresh enough to be photographed after sitting in the fridge for 4 days and that still tastes delicious after having been rinsed under cold running water, is more than worthy of being added to one’s arsenal! I’d say it’s magic…

You’re curious, right? You want to try it? Let’s have you do that.

As always when making salad, you’ll have a little bit of prep to do, but nothing too serious: some broccoli to chop, a few carrots to grate (no need to peel them, really), an apple to core and dice (again, leave that peel on) some red cabbage to shred (unless, like me, you tend to keep some of that in the fridge), a couple of green onions to slice and a handful of raw hazelnuts to toast and chop.

Then, throw all of that into a large mixing bowl, along with the sliced olives and raisins and then set aside.

Now make the salad dressing: you’ll need some paleo mayo (or not) as well as some apple cider vinegar, a bit of freshly grated ginger, a spoonful of salted herbs (or a bit more salt, if you didn’t have any of these in the fridge) plus some salt, pepper, Chinese 5 spice and cayenne.

Place all the ingredients into a Mason type glass jar and give it a good shake; Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well.

You *could* serve your salad immediately but it would greatly benefit from sitting a couple of hours in the fridge to allow flavors to meld.

Or a couple of days… just make sure you don’t forget it there or at least for no longer than a week!

Now serve yourself a great big bowlful, sit down and enjoy!

Oh, and if you did decide to add the mayo but later changed your mind, always remember that you can rinse it off without ruining your salad in the least!

Seriously… I still can’t believe I did that, but I swear it totally worked!

Print Recipe Rate this Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Magic Broccoli and Carrot Salad

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 4 cups broccoli, florets only, chopped
• 3 large carrots, grated (peeled or not, your choice)
• 1 cup shredded red cabbage
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1 red apple, peel on, cored and diced
• 1 cup sliced green olives
• 1/2 cup raw hazelnuts, toasted chopped
• 1/2 cup organic raisins

For the vinaigrette

• 1 cup paleo mayo
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger root, grated
• 1 tbsp salted herbs, or use more salt
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

• Prep all the fruits and vegetables as specified in the list of ingredients and throw them into a large mixing bowl, along with the olives, raisins and hazelnuts. Set aside.
• Make the salad dressing: place all the ingredients into a mason type jar and give it a good shake; Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well.
• You can serve your salad immediately but it would greatly benefit from sitting a couple of hours in the fridge to allow flavors to meld.
• This salad will keep miraculously well for up to a week (and more) in an airtight container.
  

Author: Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

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