Broccoli Bacon Salad Recipe with Cranberries and Pine Nuts – Beragampengetahuan

Our broccoli bacon salad recipe with cranberries, pine nuts and pangrattato and gremolata gives an Italian flavour to the classic American deli-style broccoli salad or broccoli crunch salad. We dress the salad in extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar instead of a creamy dressing, add toasted pine nuts instead of sunflower seeds, soak the cranberries in Earl Grey tea for a hint of bergamot from Southern Italy, and add pangrattato for crunch and gremolata for zest.

If you’re a fan of the American broccoli salad or broccoli crunch salad as it’s also called, as it’s traditionally made with crunchy raw broccoli, then try my broccoli bacon salad recipe. Full of flavour and texture, my broccoli salad recipe makes one of our best broccoli recipes. It’s fantastic eaten on its own, but it’s also a brilliant side to juicy meatballs, roast chicken, barbecue sausages, or a great hunk of steak.

Whether in soup, pasta or even an omelette, broccoli and bacon is one of those great ingredient couplings — like tomato and mozzarella and prosciutto and melon — especially in Italy, so I’ve given this classic American salad more Italian flavour. I include the essential ingredient, cranberries, rehydrated in Earl Grey tea, for a hint of bergamot from Southern Italy.

Instead of the classic creamy dressings in American broccoli salads, I use a basic version of a Med-style vinaigrette of extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar, and skip the usual sunflower seeds for the quintessentially Italian pine nuts. Lastly, I shower the salad with two beloved Italian condiments, pangrattato for crunch, and gremolata for zest.

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Broccoli Bacon Salad Recipe with Cranberries, Pine Nuts and Pangrattato

If you adore broccoli and bacon as much as I do — they’re such a great pairing — you’ll love this broccoli bacon salad recipe with cranberries, pine nuts, and pangrattato and gremolata, especially if you’re a fan of the classic American broccoli salad, but, like me, you don’t love the traditionally creamy dressing.

I make three variations on the classic deli-style broccoli crunch salad — this Italian-ish version, an Aussie-inspired broccoli salad with native Australian ingredients, and a  Middle Eastern take on the broccoli salad with ingredients from the region, presented in a traditional Middle Eastern style. I’ll share all three recipes.

Broccoli salads don’t have the long history in Australia that they do in the USA. Australians didn’t embrace the broccoli salad in the same way Americans did. Australians have long preferred our broccoli cooked — we boiled broccoli, steamed broccoli, simmered broccoli, sautéd it, and stir-fried broccoli.

But we only cooked our broccoli lightly, preferring firm bright green broccoli. All the early cookbooks, such as the British cookbook Mrs Beeton’s Cookery, also popular in Australia, warn not to leave the broccoli in water too long, because “its colour will be spoiled, and its crispness lost”. That’s from the 1952 edition.   

Most of the earliest broccoli recipes call for the broccoli to be first soaked in cold salted water and vinegar, to soften the broccoli, with the head down and stalk up, then to boil the broccoli gently so it doesn’t break apart.

Another popular way of cooking broccoli, published in loads of early cookbooks, was to simmer the broccoli in water and vinegar, then sauté the broccoli in butter and/or olive oil, often with garlic cooked until brown, then squeeze some lemon juice over it and grind on black pepper before serving.

I took inspiration for my broccoli bacon salad recipe from a few 1970s Australian recipes, largely from ingredients rather than methods. In her 1978 Cooking for Good Health cookbook, Margaret Fulton has a recipe for Broccoli with Prosciutto, in which she fries garlic in olive oil until brown with prosciutto, which she sprinkles over the broccoli with homemade croutons.

Flicking through the 1975 edition of NMAA Cooks, Recipes for Busy Mothers, by the Nursing Mothers Association of Australia, the ingredients of a ‘Broccoli Savoury’ recipe also jumped out at me. The dish is essentially a broccoli casserole cooked in individual ramekins — my mother’s kind of dish, not mine.

But I liked the combination of broccoli, bacon, onion, and breadcrumbs, and parmesan cheese, although I skip the cheese as I don’t think it’s needed. My broccoli bacon salad recipe already has a lot going on. My mother on the other hand, happily sprinkles on fresh grated parmesan.

Another NMAA Cooks recipe grabbed my attention last year and that was a Marinated Vegetable Salad with veggies such as cauliflower, carrot, onion, green beans, red and green peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms marinated in a classic French vinaigrette of lemon juice, oil, mustard, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper, in a glass jar or bowl in the fridge for 24 hours.

We call that 24-hour marination ‘refrigerator pickles’ or a ‘quick pickle’ in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, and we use that technique for a lot of our homemade pickle recipes. It’s also what I prefer to do with broccoli instead of boiling it. It softens the broccoli but retains that crispness and bright green colour we love in our broccoli. Except I skip the sugar, mustard, garlic, and seasoning, and keep things simple with just a quality extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar instead of lemon juice.

I have some tips to making our Italian-ish broccoli bacon salad recipe with cranberries, pine nuts and pangrattato.

Tips to Making this Broccoli Bacon Salad Recipe

Just a handful of tips to making this Italian-inspired broccoli bacon salad recipe with cranberries, pine nuts and pangrattato.

Ingredients

Let’s start with the ingredients.

Broccoli

A broccoli bacon salad recipe is all about the broccoli, so use super-fresh green broccoli heads with firm florets and a hard pale green stalk. Give broccoli with yellow or even brown-ish florets a miss. You’ll find broccoli chopped in all shapes and sizes in broccoli salads but we love very finely chopped broccoli florets. You can also chop the stalks.

Bacon

You want proper bacon with some fat, not the fake processed bacon I see a lot of here in Australia. Slice off the rind but keep the fat for contrast.

Pearl Barley

I grew up eating pearl barley in both grandparents homes, Australian and Russian-Ukrainian, and my dad also adored pearl barley, so I’m a big fan. I love the chewy-soft texture and think it’s fantastic in this broccoli bacon salad, providing a nice contrast. But you can really use any grain you like: quinoa and buckwheat are both great.

Cranberries

Like the classic American broccoli salads, my broccoli bacon salad recipe calls for cranberries, which is an essential ingredient. My Russian-Ukrainian grandmother rehydrated all dried fruit, whether using it in savoury or sweet dishes, and I often do the same, unless I want the chewy texture, which really isn’t needed here.

An American friend said the dried cranberries are sometimes soaked in Earl Grey tea for American broccoli salads, which I did not realise. I chose Earl Grey tea as bergamots are quintessentially Southern Italian, especially Calabrian. When I think of Calabria I smell the scent of citrus.

Pine Nuts

Most traditional American broccoli salad recipes feature a seed or nut, with sunflower seeds being the most ubiquitous I think. My broccoli bacon salad recipe calls for pine nuts, which for me are quintessentially Italian, although reminiscent of northern Italian dishes such as a classic Genoese basil pesto.

Pangrattato and Gremolata

My broccoli bacon salad recipe includes simpler version of the classic Italian condiments of pangrattato and gremolata. I often combine the two, as I do in that pangrattato recipe, but here I keep them separate for supreme crunchiness. For the pangrattato, I use run-of-the-mill breadcrumbs but you could use Panko breadcrumbs for extra crunchiness.

Instructions

This broccoli bacon salad recipes isn’t one of those quick and easy recipes that comes together in 15 minutes, but despite the number of steps it shouldn’t take more than 45-minutes to an hour. You can do some of the prep ahead of time, but most of the steps are very quick and can be done while the broccoli is marinating and the pearl barley is cooking.

Marinate the Broccoli

The first thing to do is marinate the finely chopped broccoli florets. I do this in a plastic storage container with lid, combining the finely chopped broccoli with extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar in the container, doing my best to ensure every floret is coated in vinegar and oil.

Pop the lid on and refrigerate your broccoli bacon salad for at least 30 minutes minimum up to an hour. But I’ve also marinated it in the fridge overnight, which results in very soft broccoli. So, yes, you can do this a day ahead if you like.

Cook the Pearl Barley

I used to soak the pearly barley overnight as that’s how I was taught to cook it, but these days I tend to just boil the pearl barley, and I find it cooks a lot faster here than in Cambodia. I need to research that. I’m using the same brand, too!

First, make sure to rinse the pearl barley in a fine mesh strainer under running tap water to remove impurities, then add the barley to a medium-sized pot with three cups of water. Over high heat, bring the barley to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and simmer for 30 minutes or so until tender.

Drain the pearl barley and set it aside. When the pearl barley cools, transfer it to a container and refrigerate it until you’re ready to use. Again, this is something you could do a day ahead.

Rehydrate the Dried Cranberries

Cranberries are another essential ingredient in a broccoli salad, as they are in my broccoli bacon salad, but whether you use them dry or rehydrate them is up to you. I like to do the latter as I think there’s enough texture in the salad, so put the kettle on, make a cup of black Earl Grey tea, add the dried cranberries and set the cup aside to soak the cranberries and plump them up. Once again, this can also be done ahead.

Fry the Onion and Bacon

To a frying pan over medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil, heat until shimmering, add the diced onion, sauté for 5 minutes or so until fragrant, soft and translucent, then transfer the onion to a dish. Add the other tablespoon of olive oil, heat it, add the finely diced bacon and fry for 5 minutes or more to your preferred level of crispiness, then transfer to a dish to cool.

Toast the Pine Nuts

To a small frying pan, add the pine nuts and toast them over high heat, stirring continually until they just begin to colour, then remove them and transfer them immediately to a small dish. Work fast, as the pine nuts will very quickly brown, and, if you don’t take care, burn. If this happens, you’ll need to start again.

Make the Pangrattato

To the same frying pan, add the last tablespoon of olive oil, heat until shimmering, then add the breadcrumbs and fry, stirring continuously until the breadcrumbs are golden-brown, then transfer to a small dish and set aside to cool.

Make the Gremolata

To a small mixing bowl, add the chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and lemon zest, stir to combine well and set aside.

Drain the Cranberries

Pour the cranberries into a fine mesh strainer to drain well, and that’s the last step. Now it’s time to assemble our broccoli bacon salad.

Assemble the Salad

Just before you’re ready to serve, to a big salad bowl, add the broccoli, pearl barley, drained cranberries, fried onion and bacon, and half of each of the pine nuts, pangrattato and gremolata.

Taste and, if you like, season with a little salt and a grind or two of fresh cracked black pepper. I think the bacon gives the salad enough salt and no more flavour is needed, but obviously we all have different palates, so season to your taste.

Stir to combine the lot, transfer to a serving plate if you’re using one or serve it in the same salad bowl, then shower the salad with the remaining gremolata, pangrattato and pine nuts, and serve it immediately.

Broccoli Bacon Salad Recipe with Cranberries, Pine Nuts and Pangrattato

Broccoli Bacon Salad Recipe with Cranberries, Pine Nuts and Pangrattato

AuthorLara Dunston

Our broccoli bacon salad recipe with cranberries, pine nuts and pangrattato and gremolata gives a distinctly Italian flavour to the American deli-style broccoli salad or broccoli crunch salad. We dress the salad in extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar instead of a creamy dressing, use pine nuts over sunflower seeds, soak the cranberries in Earl Grey tea for its hint of bergamot from Southern Italy, and add pangrattato for crunch and gremolata for zest.

Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 0 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course salad, lunch

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings made with recipeServings 4

Calories 617 kcal

• 1 large head broccoli – very finely chopped, makes around 3 cups; see notes
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 1 Earl Grey tea bag
• 1 cup boiling water
• ½ cup cranberries
• 3 tbsp olive oil – divided
• 1 small red onion – finely diced, around 80 g
• 120 g bacon – finely diced
• 20 g pine nuts
• ½ cup breadcrumbs – plain breadcrumbs for a fine crispy texture or Panko for a larger crunchier texture
• ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley – finely chopped
• 1 lemon – zest only

• Marinate the broccoli: to a container, well-combine the finely chopped broccoli with extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar, making sure every floret is coated in vinegar and oil. Put the lid on and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to an hour, but you can do this a day ahead and refrigerate overnight for the softest broccoli; see notes.

• Cook the pearl barley: rinse the pearl barley in a fine mesh strainer under running water to remove impurities, then add the barley to a medium-sized pot with three cups of water. Over high heat, bring the barley to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and simmer for 30 minutes or so until tender. Drain and set aside; when the barley cools, transfer it to a container and refrigerate until ready to use.

• Rehydrate the dried cranberries: put the kettle on, make a cup of black Earl Grey tea, add the dried cranberries and set aside to soak and plump up. This can also be done ahead; see notes.

• Fry the onion and bacon: to a frying pan over medium, add a tablespoon of olive oil, heat until shimmering, add the onion, sauté for 5 minutes or so until fragrant, soft and translucent, then transfer to a dish. Add the other tablespoon of olive oil, heat, add the bacon and fry for 5 minutes or more to your preferred crispiness, then transfer to a dish to cool.

• Toast the pine nuts: to a small frying pan, add the pine nuts and toast over high heat, stirring continually until they just begin to colour then remove them and transfer them immediately to a small dish, as they’ll very quickly brown, and, if you’re not careful, burn.

• Make the pangrattato: to the same frying pan, add the last tablespoon of olive oil, heat until shimmering, then add the breadcrumbs and fry, stirring continuously until the breadcrumbs are golden-brown, then transfer to a small dish and set aside to cool.

• Make the gremolata: to a small mixing bowl, add the chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and lemon zest, and stir to combine well.

• Drain the cranberries: pour the cranberries into a fine mesh strainer to drain well.

• Assemble the salad: just before you’re ready to serve, to a big salad bowl, add the broccoli, pearl barley, drained cranberries, fried onion and bacon, and half of each of the pine nuts, pangrattato and gremolata. Taste and, if you like, season with a little salt and a grind or two of fresh cracked black pepper, stir to combine, and shower with the remaining gremolata, pangrattato and pine nuts and serve immediately.

Calories: 617kcalCarbohydrates: 59gProtein: 12gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 316mgPotassium: 378mgFiber: 11gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 372IUVitamin C: 24mgCalcium: 66mgIron: 3mg

Please do let us know if you make our broccoli bacon salad recipe with cranberries, pine nuts and pangrattato, as we’d love to know how it turns out for you.