broccoli slaw.

Last week, when I was home alone for dinner, I made this for myself.  I served it with a wedge of really good aged cheddar cheese and a couple of crackers and I was happier than a pig in shit. (I had never heard of this phrase until I started dating Tyler and now it’s my favorite saying.)

This recipe may not look like much but somewhere along the way, it results in one of the most gloriously addicting salads ever. It's crunchy and creamy.  It tastes both indulgent and healthy. It can be made ahead and it really never goes soft.  It's practically perfect.  

This will become your fall go-to because it’s so insanely easy and utterly satisfying.  There is nothing wrong with that.  

Broccoli Slaw

Recipe adapted from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

I added tahini to the dressing because I find that it’s a nice way to thicken dressings without using more mayo.  It also imparts a pretty great flavoring to the dish that leaves people perplexed in the best possible way.  You can obviously omit it if you choose.  If you do, you will need to offset with a little more mayo.  

Makes about six cups of slaw.

2 heads of broccoli
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds, toasted (pine nuts also work here)
1/3 cup dried cranberries or raisins

Buttermilk Dressing

1/2 cup buttermilk, well-shaken
1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons tahini
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Trim broccoli and cut it into large chunks. From here, you can either feed it through your food processor’s slicing blade, use a mandoline to cut it into thin slices, or simply had chop it into smaller pieces. I used the stem and the flowerets, but if you have a broccoli stem aversion you can just use the tops. (But using just the tops would be foolish in my humble opinion.)

Toss the sliced broccoli with the almonds, cranberries and red onion in a large bowl. Meanwhile, whisk the dressing ingredients in a smaller one, with a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Pour the dressing over the broccoli (if you’ve skipped the stems, you might not want it all; I otherwise found this to be the perfect amount) and toss it well. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.