Broccoli Salad With Bacon

Try this experiment - stand in a roomful of non-vegetarians and ask, "How many of you do not much like broccoli?" At least 17 out of 20 hands will shoot up into the air. Now ask, "How many of you are not fond of bacon?" I can bet that, even in a worst case scenario, a maximum of 4 - 5 hands will go up and sometimes not even that. Fact of the matter is that broccoli health benefits are numerous but very few people actually believe in eating helpful greens and succumbing to the taste tantrums of their tongues. Well, sure enough, you have to devise ways to feed them broccoli in ways that will also cater to their taste demands and one sure shot way to make them like what they eat is by digging out a fantastic recipe for broccoli salad with bacon and then following it. Try out the following variations, which are excellent and easy potluck recipes as well, if you will and believe me when I say that they will clear out in minutes.

Recipes for Broccoli Salad With Bacon

Cold Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Sunflower Seeds
Now, even though the calories for this salad version is a high 559 per serving, you can make it for a once in a while cozy get together of 6! Gather,

• Broccoli, 1 head (fresh and diced into bite sized florets)
• Bacon slices, 10
• Sunflower seeds, 1 cup
• Mayonnaise, 1 cup
• Raisins, ½ cup
• Red onion, ¼ cup (shredded)
• White wine vinegar, 3 tbsp.
• Sugar, 2 tbsp.

Procedure
Deep-fry bacon slices until golden brown and then place on tissues to soak up excess oil and then crumble. Now, commingle the broccoli, raisins and onion in a large mixing bowl and allow it to stand for a while. In the meantime, whip together the mayo, vinegar and sugar until it is a smooth paste and then pour it over the veggie mixture. Now, toss thoroughly to cake the veggies well with the mayo mix and then place it in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours. After that, you can add the sunflower seeds and the crumbled bacon to this, toss one final time and servez votre salade. You may use low-fat mayonnaise if you wish to cut down on the fat content but since I am not too keen on sugar substitutes, I stick to my white powdered or granulated sugar. You may also add a dash of lemon juice from top for that tangy twist to this broccoli salad recipe!

Cold Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Cheese
I love this salad as I am majorly into cheese. You will need,

• Broccoli, 2½ lbs. (fresh and diced into bite sized florets)
• Bacon slices, 1 lb. (deep-fried and crumbled)
• Sharp cheddar, 1 cup (Parmesan also works fine)
• Mayonnaise, 1 cup
• Sugar, ½ cup
• Vinegar, ¼ cup

Procedure
Just whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar together. Blend the broccoli florets with the crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese and then pour the mayo mix from top. Now toss well and cover to refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours, before serving. You may use whole bacon slices for this broccoli-bacon salad and not crumble them.

Since, cooking is all about experimenting and constantly discovering the new, you can try adding basil herb, croutons, a few cubes of seasoned boiled potatoes, a dollop of light cream and slivered chestnuts to these broccoli salad with bacon recipes. You never know what gastronomical surprise you might just uncover!