We use raw broccoli because chopping at speed 4 breaks down the cell structure and releases more glucosinolates than cooking does. The florets stay firm, taste mildly nutty and retain all their vitamins.
This salad is our go-to for meal prep and barbecue parties. Ready in under 10 minutes, it keeps in the fridge for 2 days and actually improves as it marinates.
Raw Broccoli Salad with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 11 ✓
- 1/2 red pepper
- 1/2 green pepper
- 1 apple
- 200 g broccoli florets
- 20 g walnuts
- 20 g pine nuts
- 20 g olive oil
- 10 g white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp pepper freshly milled
Instructions 0 / 3
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1
Prepare the peppers.
Wash, deseed and cut the red and green peppers into pieces and place them in the mixing bowl.
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2
Prepare the apple.
Wash and quarter the apple, remove the core, then add it to the mixing bowl with the remaining ingredients.
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3
Mix the ingredients.
Mix all ingredients for 5 seconds / speed 4, divide among plates or bowls and serve.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why raw broccoli instead of cooked
Raw broccoli contains more sulforaphane than cooked broccoli. This is the mustard oil compound that gives brassicas their distinctive flavour and has anti-inflammatory properties. When heated above 60 °C, the enzyme that activates sulforaphane breaks down.
Raw broccoli tastes milder than you might expect. The florets have a slight sweetness, similar to kohlrabi. The sharpness only develops as you chew, and even then it is much gentler than radish or mooli.
Chopping at speed 4 for 5 seconds breaks down the cell walls. This releases the mustard oils and makes the broccoli easier to digest. Without this step it stays woody and hard to digest.
Pepper and apple as a sweet counterpoint
The red and green pepper add colour and a fruity sweetness that balances the sharpness of the broccoli. The apple brings freshness and stops the salad from tasting too bitter.
Without the apple the salad tastes one-dimensional and too much like raw cabbage. With it you get a rounded flavour that is reminiscent of coleslaw but considerably lighter.
Pine nuts and walnuts for texture
The combination of 20 g pine nuts and 20 g walnuts matters. Pine nuts alone are too mild and oily; walnuts alone are too bitter. Together they create a nutty base that makes the salad satisfying.
The nuts are blended in rather than toasted. This saves time and keeps the salad completely raw. The oils from the nuts combine with the olive oil and vinegar to form a creamy dressing.
White balsamic instead of dark
White balsamic vinegar is milder and fruitier than dark. It does not turn the salad brown and lets the colours of the pepper and broccoli shine through. Dark balsamic makes the salad look unappetising and the flavour becomes too dominant.
The 10 g of vinegar is exactly right for the acid balance. More makes the salad too sharp; less and it tastes flat. The 1/2 tsp of sugar rounds off the acidity without making the salad sweet.
Speed 4 is the limit
At speed 5 or above the salad turns mushy. The peppers release water, the broccoli collapses into a puree and the nuts become powder. The result is a grey mush rather than a crunchy salad.
Speed 3 is too gentle. The ingredients stay too coarse, the broccoli is hard to chew and the dressing does not distribute evenly. Speed 4 for 5 seconds is the right compromise between bite and digestibility.
The salad improves in the fridge
After 1 hour in the fridge the flavours meld together. The broccoli softens slightly but does not go mushy. The dressing penetrates the florets and makes the salad more flavourful.
After 2 days the salad is at its best. The apple releases a little juice, the nuts become creamier and the acidity mellows. Do not keep it longer than 3 days or the broccoli will turn bitter.
More broccoli recipes from us:
- Basic Thermomix® Broccoli Salad
- How we cook broccoli perfectly in the Varoma
- Broccoli Salad with Salmon and Honey Mustard Dressing
- Carrot and Broccoli Salad
