If you were to ask us what the Turks are really really really good at, the answer would probably be: grilled meat and salad. Of course, the stews and especially the many delicious zeytinyaglilar, i.e. dishes with vegetables and lots of olive oil, are also delicious. But when it comes to salads, Turkey is second to none. This certainly has something to do with the meze culture, where lots of small bowls with various delicacies are served. A large part of it is more or less salad - the term is broader here.
And if a Turkish mother wants to introduce her children to the unloved vegetable, even then she makes salad. We think that speaks volumes for Turkish salads. After all, what child doesn't love vegetables until they eat them as a salad? Incidentally, this also applies to our salad with broccoli, which we are presenting to you today. We'll get to that in a moment.
But why is Turkish salad so good?
Quite simply, it's the best ever Turkish-style salad dressing and the combination of vegetables. Turkish salads don't need a lot of frills. When we make our Turkish shepherd's salad, for example, people even ask us what it's seasoned with. It tastes so delicious... salt, pepper, oil and lemon. That's all there is to it. Alternatively, we add a dash of pomegranate syrup. But the combination is simply amazing. Turkish salad with pomegranate syrup can therefore be your alternative to salad with vinegar.
Another aspect is the combinations. When you eat Turkish salads, you simply have so many flavors and textures in your mouth that you don't know what to expect. A little soft here, crunchy there, a pop here, mhmm sour, aah sweet - it's incredible.
The same applies to our broccoli salad recipe, which we would like to present to you today. We ate the broccoli salad yesterday and are actually just sad that it's finished. Because the broccoli salad with cooked broccoli is simply so good that it makes all main courses secondary.
About our broccoli salad recipe
In Turkey, broccoli is generally eaten as a salad (cooked and raw) or as a kind of stew. In recent years, all kinds of gratins, including broccoli gratin, have also become popular. Today, however, we prefer to stick to our broccoli salad recipe.
In this Turkish salad with pomegranate syrup*, we combine broccoli, sweetcorn, red peppers, parsley, pickled cucumber, garlic and the usual suspects (salt, pepper, lemon, olive oil and pomegranate syrup). We also mixed in a little dried mint and pul biber because we like it that way. The result is so good that it will pull the rug out from under your feet.
The combination of sweetcorn and sour cucumber is certainly also responsible for this. Incidentally, this is often used in Turkish salads and simply provides a little crunch and a taste explosion in the mouth. Our pink bulgur salad is another example of this.
For all readers with a broccoli aversion at home: simply cut the broccoli into small pieces, mix in with the corn and pickles and see what happens after the broccoli bell pepper salad.
Turkish-style broccoli salad recipe
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 1 small or 1/2 large broccoli head
- 1 red (pointed) bell pepper
- 5 tbsp corn (canned corn or cooked frozen corn)
- 3 pickled cucumbers
- 2 cloves of garlic
- a handful of parsley
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp pomegranate syrup*
- juice of 1/4 lemon
- salt and pepper
optionally
- a little dried mint
- pul biber
Preparation
Step 1: Cut the broccoli into small heads and cook them in salted water (alternatively steam them). If you are using frozen corn, cook it directly with the broccoli.
Step 2: For the broccoli salad recipe, chop all the other ingredients, chop the parsley and crush the garlic cloves.
Step 3: Strain the cooked broccoli and mix all the ingredients together. Your fantastic broccoli salad recipe is ready!
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