Broccolini, feta and roasted pecan salad

After starting yesterday’s post with a little bit of karma it seemed the whole day was full of it.

It wasn’t too far away but far enough for it to be annoying. I’m talking about the distance between my car and the trolley return bay.

There was an older gentleman waiting for my  car park. He got out of his car and offered to take my trolley back for me. It was so sweet. Thank you kind man.

What I also forgot to mention yesterday was that on Friday I took Will’s watch to be fixed. I left it with the lovely man at Mister Minit (Toombul) and after a whiz around the shops it was fixed. The best part was he charged me nothing.

Will had been quoted $30 by someone in the city. It seems we were re-payed for the stolen Woolies voucher after all. Thank you kind man at Mister Minit.

I often read a few articles on Mamamia while I’m eating my lunch and yesterday I came across 21 pictures that will restore your faith in humanity. If those guys don’t deserve good karma then no one does. I challenge you to read it without a tear in your eye.

Broccolini, feta and roasted pecan salad

My faith in humanity has been temporarily restored.

Our lovely friends invited us to lunch last Sunday and I was asked to bring salad. I’m not much of a salad eater or maker, I much prefer vegetables, so I compromised with a vegetable salad.

It’s light and healthy and had a nice zesty dressing which puts it in the salad family (in my books). You could use green beans instead of broccolini, or a combination of the two. The best part is, it only takes about 10 minutes to throw together.

The ingredients

You don’t need much to throw together this salad.

Ready for blanching

Prepare the broccolini by cutting off the tough ends and separating out any big stalks into smaller sections then put them in a colander.

Hot hot hot

There’s an easy cheat’s way to blanch vegetables and you know if an easy way exists I’ll take it. My method is to put the veges in a colander (make sure it’s heat-resistant) then pour boiling water on them until they are a vibrant green.

It helps that my kitchen tap is so hot it can turn veges bright green in no time.

Once they’re the right colour and have the right degree of crunch, run them under cold water to stop them cooking any further.

The other method is to put the veges in a dish and cover them with boiling water. When they’re ready, transfer them to another dish full of cold water and ice.

Step one

Lay the broccolini out on a serving platter. You don’t have to be quite so precise about the presentation. I got a little bit OCD with making it look pretty on the platter.

Step two

Scatter the crumbled feta over the top. It doesn’t really matter what type of feta you use. I used a marinated feta from Barambah Organics. If you haven’t tried it before I highly recommend it.

Step three and four

Make up the dressing by whisking the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper together. The amount of salt and pepper you use is up to you.

Scatter the roasted pecans over the top of the salad and then dress it up with the dressing.

Broccolini, feta and roasted pecan salad

Serve it with a nice piece of steak (or whatever you like!). Enjoy!

So what about you? Have you witness or been the recipient of any random acts of kindness recently?

Broccolini, feta and roasted pecan salad

Broccolini, feta and roasted pecan salad

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Ingredients

• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp honey
• salt & pepper
• 2 bunches broccolini
• 2 tbsp crushed, roasted pecans
• 2 tbsp crumbled feta

Instructions

1. Chop the ends of the broccolini stalks off and separate them into small pieces.
2. Put the broccolini in a colander and run it under hot water until it turns a vibrant green. Run it under cold water to stop it cooking.
3. Drain the broccolini and arrange it on a serving platter.
4. Scatter the feta and roasted pecans over the top.
5. Make the dressing by whisking the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper together (use as much salt and pepper as you like).
6. Drizzle the dressing over the salad.

Notes

Serves 6 as a side dish