Broccoli Salad with Buttered Pecans

As much as I love Winter comfort food -- big pots of soup, pot pies, meat loaf and mashed potatoes -- I am so ready for Spring food. Spring is first and foremost about being able to grill again. Alongside I want the freshest asparagus, artichokes, peas, spring greens, strawberries, and the first of the tomatoes. None of this is actually grown in the High Country in the spring, but starting around the first of April, a truck appears on Friday afternoon in the K-mart parking lot bearing fresh produce from further south. And we start making regular weekend trips a hundred miles down the mountain to Lake Norman where Josh's Produce in Mooresville hosts my good friends at The Shrimp Connection. As the weather warms up, our menu changes somewhat dramatically.

In the meantime, we have to make do. While we couldn't quite eat on the deck yet, it was warm enough to grill turkey burgers one night this week. DH has gone low-carb again so I needed a substantial side dish to make up for the loss of a bun, but it had to be something that at least showed signs of Spring. This broccoli salad fit the bill.

Broccoli Salad with Buttered Pecans

Ingredients:

• 4-5 cups small broccoli florets
• 3/4 cups seedless red grapes, halved
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/3 cup pecans, roughly chopped
  
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons agave honey
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the broccoli and blanch it for 2-3 minutes. The broccoli should be bright green.
   
2. Drain the broccoli in a colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
   
3. Combine the broccoli, grapes, celery, shallots and raisins in a large bowl.
4. Melt the butter in a small skillet. Add the pecans and toast until fragrant. Set aside to cool.
5. Combine the mayonnaise, yogurt, buttermilk, honey and vinegar, stirring with a whisk to combine.
6. Add the pecans to the salad in the large bowl. Pour about 2/3 of the dressing over the salad and toss thoroughly to combine, adding additional dressing as needed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Yield: 4 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 2-3 minutes