Roasted Broccoli Salad with Pickled Shallots + A Bit of News

I've had the idea for this recipe swimming around in my head for a while. Does that ever happen to anyone else? I think it started after I had a charred broccoli salad a few weeks back. The salad combined smokey broccoli and pickled kohlrabi and it was one of the best flavor combinations I've tasted in a long while. The bright tang of the pickled kohlrabi cut right through the deep smokey flavor of the broccoli perfectly. There were other components to the salad, but they were mostly supporting roles in the overall scheme. If you're in the Houston area, and want to try this awesome salad, you can get it at Coltivare.

Since enjoying the salad, I formulated my own simplified version of it in my head. I knew I wanted to combine roasted broccoli with some quick pickled shallots and toasted nuts. Tasting as I went, I decided to add a sweet component which is where the apple came in. It's quite simple to throw together and is ready in about the time it takes to roast the broccoli. If you want to make a meal out of it, you can do what I did and serve it over some brown rice (or other grain). The salad can be served warm, at room temperature, or even chilled depending on your preference or what is easiest. If you are a bit weirded out by the pickled shallots, I urge you to give them a try in this application. I think you might find your new favorite salad.

And, on a completely unrelated subject, I thought I would provide some follow up news to this post in which I shared that I am no longer continuing the baking business part of Sweet Miscellany and instead pursuing my interests in nutrition. Since that post I was able to find a suitable program and will begin a year long program starting in March! I am excited and nervous but I finally feel like things are falling into place and making sense. Thank you to anyone who has offered support and stuck with me through this journey :)

Roasted Broccoli Salad with Pickled Shallots

2 crowns of broccoli
olive oil or other high heat oil of your choosing
1 sweet/tart apple, thinly sliced
1 large handful of pecans, toasted & roughly chopped
1 batch pickled shallots (recipe below)**
a couple of splashes of the pickling liquid (see below)
sea salt & pepper to taste

**quick pickled shallots
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, smashed
about 1/4 cup red wine or apple cider vinegar (enough to cover the shallots)
small pinch of sea salt
1/8 tsp agave or maple syrup

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is pre-heating, chop up your broccoli into smaller crowns and the stem into rounds. Put the chopped broccoli onto a baking sheet then drizzle it with the oil and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Toss to combine, then roast the broccoli in your pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes until tender and caramelized on the edges. Make sure to toss the broccoli about halfway through so that it is evenly roasted.

While the broccoli is roasting, make the pickled shallots. Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. Let the mixture sit while the broccoli is roasting and you finish the rest of the prep for the salad (at least 20 minutes). Remove the shallots from the pickling liquid when you are ready to use them.

When the broccoli is ready, add it to a bowl along with the apple, pecans, pickled shallots, and a splash or two of the pickling liquid. Toss everything together then taste it and adjust with more salt, pepper, or pickling liquid if needed. Makes 2 main servings or 4 side servings.