Avoca Cafe-Inspired Broccoli, Tomato and Feta Salad

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Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 203.9

Total Fat: 13.5 g
Cholesterol: 12.6 mg
Sodium: 374.0 mg
Total Carbs: 18.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.8 g
Protein: 6.8 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Avoca Cafe-Inspired Broccoli, Tomato and Feta Salad calories by ingredient

Introduction

This recipe is my customized version of the most popular salad sold at Avoca Cafe in Avoca, County Wicklow, Ireland. It depends on using fresh ingredients but yields such a bounty of salty-sweet flavours and marvellous texture that it's worth it to get the loveliest vegetables you can find. It's quite a filling, chunky salad, so all it needs for accompaniment is a nice slice of multi-grain bread and perhaps a mug of tomato soup to make a plate of it a meal. Please enjoy. This recipe is my customized version of the most popular salad sold at Avoca Cafe in Avoca, County Wicklow, Ireland. It depends on using fresh ingredients but yields such a bounty of salty-sweet flavours and marvellous texture that it's worth it to get the loveliest vegetables you can find. It's quite a filling, chunky salad, so all it needs for accompaniment is a nice slice of multi-grain bread and perhaps a mug of tomato soup to make a plate of it a meal. Please enjoy.

Minutes to Prepare: 15

Minutes to Cook: 5

Number of Servings: 8

Ingredients

110 g/4 oz. hazelnuts, shelled, with brown husk attached

400 g/14 oz. (or one large head broccoli) broccoli florets (bite-sized)

110 g/4 oz. good-quality feta cheese, cut into bite-sized cubes

225 g/8 oz. cherry tomatoes, washed and halved

200 ml/7 fl. oz French Dressing of your choice (it helps if it's on the sweet side)

1 large sweet apple (Gala, Pink Lady are very good), washed but not peeled, cored and sliced into bite-size peices

Note: the broccoli can benefit from a very light blanching and shocking in ice water if you find it too crunchy.

Possible Substitutions:

Chickpeas, cashews or almonds for hazelnuts. All lend different textures and flavours.

Experiment on your family and friends!

Directions

Toast the hazel nuts in a pre-heated, 350-degree (180 degrees C, gas mark 4) oven, spread out on a baking sheet, for about 5-10 minutes. Be careful to check them at the end because they can burn very quickly. Once they are done, tip them into a clean tea towel and rub them vigourously to take off the skins (this step is entirely optional if you don't mind the skins, but toasting the hazelnuts gives a creamier flavor than when added raw). Let the hazelnuts cool, then gently toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl until everything is coated with the dressing, season with pepper (the feta is usually salty enough to leave extra salt out) and serve.

This salad keeps very well covered in the fridge for about three days, and is an excellent idea for a picnic or brunch. It is very substantial and makes about 8 large (1-cup) servings. It is also very easy to simply make more than the recipe calls for--I have always ended up adding the rest of a punnet of cherry tomatoes and the end of the feta cheese to the recipe. Please enjoy.

Number of Servings: 8

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user ALDABATEUSE.