Flavoursome, colourful and warming. This salad is my absolute go-to, it is always a winner with guests! As my culinary skills have developed and I have moved through my food loving journey, I have come to realise that (for me) garlic, ginger, lime and coriander take dishes to the next level for flavour. Spices, citrus and herbs not only boast beautiful fragrant flavours but they bring so many other attributes to the table, such as various phytonutrients (plant compounds that have protective antioxidant qualities).
This dish is vegan and contains protein (chickpeas and nuts), high fibre carbohydrates (chickpeas, nuts, veggies) and antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties (ginger, garlic, lime, chilli, greens). Broccoli contains a phytonutrients called sulforphanes that protects the body against toxins and disease (cut the broccoli 30-60 minutes before you cook it and sit it out to allow the air to activate the enzyme to promote these). It is also rich in Vitamin C, K, Co-Enzyme Q10 and although it is widely used, it is absolutely a ‘superfood’.
Let’s get to the recipe…
20 minutes - 4 people
Ingredients
2 heads of broccoli, roughly chopped
4 large handfuls of kale or spinach, trimmed and roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 inch piece of fresh grated ginger
1 green chilli
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lime
1 large bunch coriander, chopped roughly
2 handfuls of almonds, roughly chopped
1 tin of chickpeas, drained
1 tbsp harissa paste (or any kind of spicy sauce)
sea salt and pepper to taste
Method
Place frying pan on medium-high heat and add some olive oil and the chickpeas and start to warm them through. Add harissa and coat chickpeas in it. Let the chickpeas light fry and get a little crunchy - this should take around 10 minutes (keep tossing the pan).
In a separate saucepan, sauté broccoli with olive oil over a medium heat, making sure to toss the pan occasionally and allow the broccoli to cook through.
After 3-4 minutes, add garlic, ginger and chilli and cook these through for 1 minutes before adding the kale/spinach and toss until just wilted.
In the chickpea pan, make some space and place the almonds in to lightly toast them - watch so that they don’t burn.
Squeeze lime juice over the broccoli and toss through the coriander. Season to taste and add a generous amount of black pepper.
Serve in bowls sprinkled with chickpeas and almonds.