Your Raw Broccoli Salad Needs A Warm Dressing To Truly Shine

Broccoli salad is a favorite in my house. Whether we're grilling burgers and hot dogs, baking warm sub sandwiches, or double-frying ultra-crispy chicken, this classic side dish seems to go with everything. Traditionally, broccoli salad is served cold and consists of raw broccoli, some sort of creamy, tangy dressing, and both sweet and savory mix-ins like cooked bacon, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds. But leave it to the experts to show us at The Takeout that it's time to give broccoli salad the warm dressing treatment for a unique, delicious flavor experience.

We were thrilled to discuss the popular side salad with both Megan McCarthy, the founder of Healthy Eating 101 and chef at the Atlanta Botanical Garden's Edible Garden, and chef David Kirschner, the founder of dineDK, a private dining company. They are both passionate advocates for flavoring broccoli salad with warm dressings, but prefer to use slightly different ingredients. McCarthy believes that using a warm vinaigrette-style dressing not only flavors the dish, but improves the texture of the broccoli as well. "A warm dressing (with vinegar or lemon) slightly wilts and softens the broccoli by lightly 'cooking' it," she explained. "It removes raw harshness, improves chewability, and makes the flavor milder and more palatable, without losing crunch entirely."

For her broccoli salad, McCarthy likes to sauté some shallots (which are part of the onion family) in olive oil, then adds Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, a touch of honey or maple syrup, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper. Once everything is incorporated in the hot pan, she pours the dressing over raw, chopped broccoli and tosses everything together. Kirschner, on the other hand, incorporates bacon — an ingredient you nearly always see in cold broccoli salad — into the actual dressing.

Chef David Kirschner agrees with Megan McCarthy that a warm dressing improves the state of raw broccoli. "A warm dressing will lightly wilt the broccoli and also open up its structure to absorb flavor a bit more than a chilled dressing," he told us. His recipe shares several ingredients with McCarthy's, but the savory base comes from first sautéing chopped bacon. "For me, the perfect warm dressing for broccoli would start with crisping up diced bacon over medium heat in a sauté pan, rendering out its fat, then adding finely cut shallots and cooking them for a minute until translucent," he explained.

Kirschner's method is simple enough. Off the heat, "add some Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and chopped herbs, whisking all this together, and pour it over finely cut broccoli and shaved broccoli stems," he suggested. By cutting the broccoli into small pieces and shavings, the dressing has the chance to flavor every tiny bite of the salad, rather than coating just the outside of a large floret. The chef also believes his dressing balances out the potentially bitter flavors of raw, cruciferous broccoli. "The smokiness from the bacon, the sharp punch of the Dijon and vinegar, balanced out by a great quality, fruity olive oil, and fresh herbs would be the perfect complement to a simple broccoli salad," he said.

While Kirschner didn't specify which types of fresh herbs to use, most soft varietals would add a burst of fresh flavor to a warm broccoli salad. Try basil, parsley, mint, cilantro, or even dill. And don't toss those leftover herb stems just yet as they happen to be useful in things like soups, sauces, and dressings.