Broccoli Raisin Salad Done the Raw Food Way
I love to make raw food versions of traditional recipes. One of my favorite salads from the “old” days was broccoli, raisin salad.It is a favorite that appears everywhere. You will find it at salad bars, and potlucks. The original is filled with bacon, mayo and sugar. That no longer fits into my needs for healthy, raw food. I still find myself craving this salad so I decided to make a raw food recipe version. The bacon has been eliminated and the sugar and fat laden dressing is replaced by a healthy cashew based dressing. I am pleased with the results and hope you will be too. No one will ever guess this is raw!
Broccoli Raisin Sunflower Seed Salad
Dressing
- 1 cup cashews, soaked at least 2 hours
- 1 1/2 lemons (juice from)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 shallot (2 tablespoons chopped)
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons agave (or liquid sweetener of your choice)
- 1/2 tablespoon mustard powder
- pinch celtic sea salt
- Combine all ingredients in Vitamix. Mix until silky smooth.
Salad
- 6 cups broccoli, chopped
- 1/2 red onion, medium, chopped
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup sunflower seeds
- dressing
- Mix together broccoli, raisins, onion, raisins, and sunflower seeds.
- Top with dressing and combine until well coated.
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Isabel wrote on March 8, 2010
Susan, is there another nut I can use in this recipe for the dressing instead of cashews? I’ve heard from other raw foodists that they are fungus forming in the body? Any info on that?
Susan wrote on March 8, 2010
It is quite hard to find nuts that will replicate the cashew especially in desserts. They are soft, and creamy and don’t have a lot of taste which lends nicely to desserts. There are quite a few desserts that don’t have them. You might want to try them if you have concerns.
Diane wrote on December 25, 2009
Just wanted to say I made this for Christmas dinner today and everyone loved it. I knew that all broccoli might be a digestive problem for a few of us, so I “thinned it out” with some other sturdy vegetables, namely celery and jicama. I ran out of enough raisins, so I threw in some currants, and being short a lemon, added a dash of vinegar, I think it was balsalmic – not raw, but I’m not a purist. Next time I think I might cut down on the agave because for my palette it was just a touch too sweet, but I think for all the other guests it was spot-on, and so much like the “traditional” mayo-laden broccoli salad without the ill feeling afterward.
Oh – and here’s a good tip for a bacon flavor substitute with the sunflower seeds – we have this great raw cafe and food co-op in the basement of the Detroit Zen Center monestary, and on my last visit I picked up a bag of their sprouted, dehydrated, spiced sunflower seeds, so I used those instead of plain raw. I’m not sure what the spice mix was, but it was a good stand-in for bacon because some of that saltier, heartier flavor stood up in the dish, vs. being more just texture.
I’ll definitely make this one again. Thanks for the recipe!! 🙂
Lynda wrote on October 27, 2009
Wow, this looks fantastic! I’m going to try this out, though perhaps with olive oil based mayo since I don’t have a bunch of cashews.
Polly Raichert wrote on October 26, 2009
Forgot to mention- FINALLY sucess with the dehydrator. Thanks!
Susan wrote on October 27, 2009
Yea!!!
Polly Raichert wrote on October 26, 2009
Absolutely trying this one tomorrow. You just have one idea after another! Thank you!
Made your sweet potatoes last week. With the chipotle mayo. Awesome! Then tried your corn chip recipe with some guac and salsa. Wonderful! Even my non raw food family loved it. Bye the bye took some of my left over fries and cooked them up for the nonraw kiddos. They gobbled them up and begged for more. I tasted them and the flavor the marinade gave them made them out of this world. Looking forward to more classes:)
Looking forward to doing some soaking too!
Alani wrote on October 26, 2009
wooooow!!!
Lindsay wrote on October 25, 2009
great recipe!