Irresistible Mandarin Roasted Broccoli Salad

Best. Salad. Ever. With crisp lightly roasted broccoli and savory bacon pieces, sweet oranges and tangy onion tossed in the slightly sweet dressing, this salad will be on my favorites list for a long time. It is almost indescribably delicious. You'll have to forgive me the longer than usual post, because I am absolutely head over heels for this recipe.

I've made this salad three different ways in less than two weeks. It has been completely delicious each time. I have fed this to several guests, and questioned whether it was really as good as I thought it was. Every single person has agreed. From the laid back response, "wow" to the, "oh my goodness, what is this? I love it!" The responses were overwhelmingly positive.

I'm not sure when I've been this excited to post a recipe. Not only do I love this recipe, but today is the August reveal day for the Secret Recipe Club. I was assigned Jo-Anna's blog, A Pretty Life in the Suburbs. She has a great site full of fun DIY projects, delicious looking recipes and beautiful photography. When I saw her recipe for Broccoli Mandarin Salad, I initially didn't even consider it because raw broccoli is not a favorite for anyone in my home. However, she wrote about it so positively and the ingredient list was so different from anything I would normally put together; I couldn't resist trying this salad.

I did change a few things from the original recipe. Like I mentioned above, I've made this salad three times now and I'm listing my favorite variation below. I've made this with raw broccoli and with roasted broccoli. We all liked it both ways, but the roasted broccoli version was everyone's favorite. Roasting the broccoli gives it a deeper more concentrated flavor and a prettier color in the salad as well. I found that by roasting the broccoli, I also used more broccoli in the salad due to the fact that vegetables shrink when roasted.

I've also switched the original white sugar with raw honey. Both sweeteners worked great in this dish. The honey did not lend a honey flavor to the salad at all. It simply added a necessary sweetness to balance everything else. We had this salad along with Smokey Grilled Chicken and Bacon Cheese Burgers and it was a perfect meal.

Irresistible Mandarin Roasted Broccoli Salad
recipe adapted from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs

SALAD DRESSING:
2 eggs
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon arrowroot powder (cornstarch is fine as well)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I made this both with and without the mayo and both versions were good. The final verdict was in favor of the mayo. It adds a tangy element to the dressing and we liked that.)

SALAD:
6 cups broccoli florets, cut slightly smaller than bite size
2 cups (approximately 5 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms, sliced thin and then cut in half, about 10-12 pieces per small button mushroom (Do not be put off by the mushrooms, a certain mushroom hater in my life really enjoyed this salad. They lend more texture to the salad than flavor.)
1/2 cup raisins
10 slices bacon, cooked and chopped small (I cook the bacon in the oven at the same time as the broccoli)
4 mandarin oranges, peeled and separated
1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. If you are cooking the bacon in the oven with the broccoli, now is the time to start it. You can spread it out on a large baking tray covered in foil and place it in the cold oven as you preheat it. 18-22 minutes later it should be done. Keep a close eye on the bacon towards the end of the cooking time.

In a large bowl, drizzle olive oil lightly over the broccoli. Toss with your hands to coat. Spread out the broccoli in a single layer across a lightly greased or silpat lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until barely beginning to brown on the edges. The broccoli should be a bright green with a bit of crunch remaining. Let the broccoli cool completely before combining with the other salad ingredients.

Make the dressing next, it will need to cool before tossing with the rest of the salad. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk eggs, sugar, arrowroot and mustard. Add the vinegar and water and whisk again. Cook until slightly thickened, stirring almost constantly. Remove from the heat and add the mayonnaise. Cool.

In a large bowl, combine the cooled salad ingredients and then toss with the cooled dressing. This is delicious immediately, however it is even better after 3 or more hours rest in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Click here for printable recipe