Broccoli rice salad with blue cheese and a maple and mustard dressing

This will surely (b)rock your world!

Broccoli is a great seasonal vegetable grown here in the UK and so it is a great vegetable to use in all meals, including salads. The numerous ways it can be cooked allow us to be more creative with our lunch and offers a create low-carb alternative to white rice! The sweetness from the maple syrup also offers a create flavour combination with the tanginess of the cheese that you are sure to love!

---

The Recipe

Serves: 4

Prep time: 15mins

Cook time: 30mins

Ingredients

For the salad

3 medium sized broccoli heads

1 courgette, diced into 2cm pieces

2 tbsp oil

4 large handfuls of spinach, roughly chopped and rubbed with olive oil.

2 large handfuls of rocket

10g walnuts, broken

5g sunflower seeds

1 tbsp maple syrup

50g Saint Agur cheese

20g raisins

For the dressing

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dijon mustard

1tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp lemon juice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C fan.

2. Cut the three broccoli heads into florets and set ⅓ to the side. Place the remaining ⅔ into a food processor until all the pieces form a crumb or rice-like texture. Make sure not to pulse too much so that the broccoli forms a mush.

3. Coat the courgette in 1 tbsp of the oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper and place roast in the oven for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, coat the broccoli florets you set aside with the remaining oil and season with salt and pepper. Add to the courgette and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.

5. To cook the broccoli rice, place a pan of boiling over a medium heat and place the broccoli rice in a sieve on top with a good pinch of salt. Place a lid over the top and steam for 2 minutes so that the broccoli still has a nice crunch.

6. Coat the walnuts and sunflower seeds in the maple syrup and put in the oven when the vegetables have 5 minutes remaining.

7. For the dressing, mix all the dressing ingredients together until well combined.

8. Assemble the salad, starting with leaves and broccoli rice on the bottom, and then add the remaining salad ingredients. Drizzle the dressing over the top.

9. Serve and enjoy!

---

Alternatives

*You can use any blue cheese in this recipe but I prefer a creamier cheese. Likewise you can use different cheeses but the blue is a nice contrast to the sweet maple dressing.

*This salad could also be made with roasted sweet potato (30mins) or butternut squash (45mins) if you want the salad to be a little more filling.