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Jul 22, 2023

A broccoli salad with curry vinaigrette and apple has us craving fall

I know, I know. Autumn is still technically a month away. But I caught a whiff of the season to come and started dreaming of the foods that will be back on my table once the shorts go back in storage

I know, I know. Autumn is still technically a month away. But I caught a whiff of the season to come and started dreaming of the foods that will be back on my table once the shorts go back in storage and the jackets come out.

As a gardener, I’m usually looking ahead, anyhow, thinking about what plants can thrive after they germinate and sprout in a few weeks, and I start to plan my cooking around them. When you live someplace that gets this hot in the summers (more and more of the world as the planet warms), one of the great seasonal cooking ironies is that at just the moment you are most interested in eating salads, it’s the absolute hardest to grow salad greens. My lettuces bolted and turned bitter a month ago, but I’m eyeing the calendar for the right time to start sowing new rounds of lettuce, spinach and arugula seeds for a fall bounty.

Until then, of course, I buy greens at the supermarket, and have been making salads that get heartier by the week. One I can’t stop making is from the inimitable Jeanine Donofrio’s latest book, “Love & Lemons Simple Feel Good Food.” It combines spinach with roast broccoli, apple (or pear), pumpkin seeds and dates, drizzled in an excellent curry vinaigrette. The dressing, punchy with garlic and ginger and curry powder, gets a touch of sweetness from more dates, and makes the salad as appropriate for special occasions as for any given weeknight. One of the (many) times I’ve made it was when I was looking for something to serve alongside a big pot of lentil soup for a colleague’s recent going-away celebration, and it worked wonders.

Broccoli and spinach feel like seasonless ingredients, but the apple – while available any time – clues you in to the idea that this salad might be particularly welcome in not only the season we’re in, but the one that’s on the horizon, ready to give you the chills you’ve craved all summer long.

This summer-meets-fall salad combines sweet and nutty flavors with various crunchy textures, bound in a punchy dressing. It’s hearty enough for a meal with the addition of bread, or you could also add protein in the form of seared tofu or chickpeas, if you’d like.

Adapted from “Love & Lemons Simple Feel Good Food” by Jeanine Donofrio (Avery, 2023).

For the broccoli:

Florets from 2 broccoli crowns (1 ½ pounds total)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

For the curry vinaigrette:

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup water, plus more as needed

2 dates, preferably Medjool, pitted and chopped

2 tablespoons rice vinegar (seasoned or unseasoned)

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 clove garlic, chopped

½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger

¼ teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste

Pinch freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

For assembly:

4 cups (about 4 ounces) loosely packed baby spinach

6 dates, preferably Medjool, pitted and chopped

1 ripe but firm apple or pear, cored and thinly sliced

½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Roast the broccoli: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Toss the florets on the baking sheet with the oil, salt and pepper. Taste, and season with more salt and/or pepper as needed. Spread out in an even layer and roast for 8 to 10 minutes, or until browned around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Make the vinaigrette: While the broccoli is roasting, in a blender, combine the olive oil, water, dates, vinegar, curry, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper, and puree until smooth. Taste, and season with more salt and/or pepper as needed. You should have about 3/4 cup.

Assemble the salad: Arrange half of the spinach on a platter, top with half of the broccoli and drizzle with half of the dressing. Scatter with half of the dates, half of the apple or pear, and half of the pumpkin seeds. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

Storage: Refrigerate the dressing for up to 3 days. Salad leftovers are best refrigerated without the dressing, for up to 2 days.

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