broccoli + orange + hazelnut {salad}

Like a lot of you out there, I’ve become borderline obsessed with the Ottolenghi cookbook Jerusalem. If I’m having a dinner party it’s not a matter of if I will use an Ottolenghi recipe, it’s just a question of how many. While the lamb meatballs and cardamom chicken are constant favorites, I rotate among almost all of the salad and vegetable recipes.

Part of what makes the salad recipes so great, is that they always look stunning. Almost as if I’d transported a platter full of goodness direct from the big table in the front of the Islington restaurant.

While I usually save some of the more labor intensive recipes for the weekend or the aforesaid dinner parties, I’ve taken to adding a few Ottolenghesque touches to our everyday fare as well. I realized early on that the addition of slices of red onion makes almost anything look stunning. Also, layering the salad on a platter rather than mixing it in a big bowl looks ever so professional. And finally any mixture of citrus zest and/or roasted nuts will make turn any otherwise ordinary vegetable into something extraordinary.

So here is last night’s Broccoli, Orange and Hazelnut Salad. No, I did not use a recipe from Jerusalem. But it sure looks like I did, doesn’t it? And I have to say, it tastes like it too.

broccoli, orange and hazelnut salad

1 head of broccoli
1 red onion
1 orange
1 lemon
salt
1/2 cup chopped, roasted hazelnuts
2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil

Cut the broccoli into small florets and steam until tender. You don’t want to over cook them, but you also don’t want them too crunchy/raw. When they are done lift them out carefully and lay them on a serving plate to cool. I don’t like plunging them into a cold bath to keep the green color, because I find they just end up getting soggy somehow. But if you lay them out in one layer, they should cool down pretty quickly.

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the rind off of the orange, being careful to leave behind the white pith. Chop finely.

Juice one half of the orange and place juice in a small bowl. Add the juice of 1 half lemon.
 
Cut the red onion in half, length wise through the root. Then slice along the root into thin slices. Place the onion in the bowl with the citrus juice, along with 1 tsp of salt, and let sit for at least 20 minutes.

To assemble salad: Scatter the marinated red onion on top of the room temperature broccoli. Top with the chopped hazlenuts and then the orange zest. Season with salt and pepper. Add about 3 tablespoons of the citrus juice and the olive oil, drizzling it on top.  Bring to the table to let everyone see how pretty and professional it looks. Then you can mix it up and serve it.