My late mother used to swear that the only thing I ate until the age of 12 was broccoli. My sister agrees, and a family friend once reminisced about my being in a high chair, too young to form full sentences, but making my points using fistfuls of broccoli. My eight year old daughter feels the same way, and our preferred method is to roast it. Sometimes I’ll toss it with some farro and make a salad, but ever since I tried the Broccoli Kimchi Caesar Salad from Vegan Pizza Land in Easthampton this past winter, that has been my go-to for my roasted broccoli. And now that broccoli is in season and available at our local farms and CSAs, it’s basically all I eat these days.

Perhaps some of you have raised an eyebrow and are trying to digest what I’ve offered. Kimchi? Caesar? Broccoli? The sum is so much more than all of its exquisite parts, and each bite, which will most likely involve all three of those things, plus some nori (dried seaweed) and a bit of a crouton, is a full on umami blast in your mouth.

I’m not sure how the folks at Vegan Pizza Land came up with this salad, but I do know they have a gift when it comes to vegetables. (Not to take away from their pizzas; my husband, who slung pizzas in high school, claims they have the best char around.) I also love their desserts. In fact, this past Saturday night we ordered all three of the desserts, which included a fennel custard pie with rhubarb compote and a chocolate cake with peanut butter and miso frosting. Everything was divine, but they must have been a little concerned that all we ordered was dessert, because they included a kale Caesar salad with giardiniera, which was absolutely scrumptious.

I actually reached out to them before putting together this post, and they were so gracious that they even shared their vegan Caesar dressing recipe, to ensure that their vegan spirit would remain intact. They use the pizza oven to blast their broccoli, but I make do with my oven, or toaster oven, depending on how hot the day is and how much broccoli I am roasting.

I have no suggestions about what kimchi you should use. I often make my own, but haven’t yet this summer. Kimchi is available at most grocery stores now, but I would suggest you check the ingredients carefully for animal products like shellfish. Nori is everywhere these days; I have some friends whose children love it so much they buy it in bulk at Costco. I love store-bought croutons and have been adding them to all my salads these days.

In the recipe below I offer basic amounts for the salad, but feel free to do what tastes best to you. Perhaps you want more kimchi, or maybe you’ll want less dressing. The salad does pretty well as leftovers; I’ve been known to inhale it, um, I mean eat it, for breakfast.

Broccoli Kimchi Caesar Salad

Ingredients:

1 bunch (about 3 cups) broccoli

Pinch of kosher salt

About a Tablespoon and a half of olive oil

About one third cup of vegan Caesar dressing (recipe below)

About one quarter cup of kimchi, chopped

Three nori sheets

About a half cup croutons

Directions:

First, roast your broccoli:

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400F.

Clean your broccoli by giving it a good rinse, trimming the green leaves off the stalk, and cutting it into bite-sized pieces. I use my stalks too; just trim off the woody parts and it’ll be fine.

Cover a baking sheet with tinfoil. I do this first because my hands are about to get oily when I toss the broccoli, and also so I don’t have to scrub the pan in my kitchen clean up.

In a large bowl, toss the broccoli with the kosher salt and enough olive oil to coat. Dump the broccoli onto the foil-covered baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

Once your broccoli is done roasting, add it to a large bowl. Add the kimchi, dressing, croutons, and crumble the nori over everything. Stir to combine. Enjoy!

Vegan Caesar Dressing

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

One half cup Vegan Mayonnaise

1 tsp Crushed Garlic

2 tsp Capers

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce*

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

1 Tbsp Olive Oil Extra Virgin

One quarter tsp Distilled White Vinegar

Directions:

Add all the ingredients to a measuring jug and blend up with an immersion blender.

Alternatively add all ingredients to blender jug and blend until smooth.

Serve as a dressing for a vegan Caesar salad or any salad, or as a dip.

*Use a gluten-free soy sauce or switch to tamari if you want this dressing to be gluten-free.

Keep leftovers stored in the fridge where it will stay good for up to 5 days.

Molly Parr lives in Florence with her husband and two young daughters. She’s been writing her food blog, Cheap Beets, since 2010. Send questions or comments to molly.parr@gmail.com.

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