There’s this deli-style restaurant at the Glendale rest area off of the QEW; there, I used to order broccoli slaw. It was lovely: crisp, savory, and sweet, all at the same time. However, times change…menus change…and I haven’t seen my favorite slaw appear as one of their offerings in about three years. Maybe it was a change in management/ownership, or perhaps my timing was just wrong. In any case, I was slaw-free…and it wasn’t a good thing.
So, I’m starting to expand my skills with the Vitamix. The wet-chop is now my friend, and the other day I thought, “Why not make my OWN broccoli slaw?” Yeah, why not!?
This is what I came up with. The dressing is different, as are the ingredients, but it’s a rather tasty little concoction. Feel free to vary the recipe to make it fit your eating lifestyle, be you vegan, paleo, vegetarian, whatever.
I shall apologize now to those people who don’t own a Vitamix. You can certainly fix this without a Vitamix, mixing up the aioli and the dressing in a standard blender or “bullet”; you just will have to get your French chef’s knife in motion to chop up all that broccoli by hand.
Okay, here goes….let’s start with the aioli (and you might never want to buy cheap mayonnaise again)! Yes, you WILL have leftover aioli and you MIGHT have leftover Curry Yogurt Dressing. After tasting these, you will probably be glad that you do! They are both great as spreads and dips, so get creative; OWN your kitchen!
Fresh Aioli
This is a standard aioli, useful for many recipes.
- 3 large organic egg yolks
- juice of 1-1/2 lemons (4-5 tablespoons)
- a large pinch of sea salt
- a large pinch of white pepper
- 3 peeled garlic cloves (don’t use garlic that has started to “sprout”)
- 3/4 cup light olive oil
- 1/4 cup virgin olive oil
Note – I used a 48 oz. container, which has 3″ wide blades. If you are using the new 64 ounce 4″ wide blade container, you may want to double this recipe!
Combine the two olive oils and set aside.
Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in the Vitamix container. Secure the lid, and set the machine to Variable Speed 1. Start the Vitamix, and slowly increase the speed to 8. Now, remove the lid’s plug, and one by one, drop in the garlic cloves. Process for 10 seconds.
Reduce the Variable Speed to 6. Now slowly begin to dribble in the olive oils through the hole in the lid. Continue this slow, steady stream until all the olive oil is gone. Process the mixture until emulsified. You will be surprised how it will quickly become thicker and creamy.
Place in a glass container and refrigerate.
Curry Yogurt Dressing
This light, yummy dressing has a multitude of uses, from green salads, to slaws, to chicken salads. I like to keep some ready and “on hand” for when the craving strikes!
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup homemade aioli
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- Juice of one lemon
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 1 tablespoon of curry powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
- a pinch of sea salt
- a pinch of freshly ground pepper
Combine all ingredients a small 32 oz or 48 oz Vitamix container. Set Variable Speed to 1 and press start. Slowly increase speed to 4; process until ingredients are smoothly combined.
Broccoli Slaw with Curry Yogurt Dressing
- 2 broccoli “heads”, 4 broccoli “crowns”, or 1 large stalk of broccoli
- 1 medium red onion
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup to 1 cup goat cheese crumbles or feta cheese, your choice
- 4 strips of crisp bacon
- Curry Yogurt Dressing made with homemade Aioli (recipes follow)
- Candied walnut or pecan bits
Wet-chop the broccoli in the Vitamix. For this, I used the 64 oz, 4 inch blade container. Take one broccoli head at a time, break it into larger chunks, and place it in the blender container. Cover with enough water to cover the vegetable pieces by one to two inches. Set the Variable Speed to 1, and turn on the Vitamix for about six seconds. Stop the blender, and empty the blender container, pouring the contents into a strainer or colander. This should result in a course chop. Do this to one of the two broccoli heads, and then repeat it with the second one. Place the broccoli bits into a large glass or stainless steel bowl.
Now for the onion. Cut the onion into fourths, place in the blender container, and once again cover with water, one to two inches over the top of the onion. With the Variable Speed set to 1, process for 6 seconds. Stop and drain the onion into the colander or strainer, adding the onion to the bowl with the broccoli.
At this point, you probably have some veggie bits left in your Vitamix container. Run some cool water into the container, and pour it right back out through the strainer. Most of those bits will come out, and you can add them to your salad.
Add to the salad the dried cranberries, goat cheese bits, and crumbled bacon; toss lightly to combine. Now add Curry Yogurt Dressing to your taste. I used between 1/2 cup to one cup of dressing (depending on the size of the broccoli heads), but some people like more “sauce” to their salads than I do. Toss again to mix.
Just prior to serving, sprinkle with the candied walnut or pecan bits. Enjoy!
...but can i blend it? 