12.3.09 Broccolini Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving—welcome to December! This weekend kicks off a super busy month for me, with my girlfriends are visiting Saturday night for an early holiday get-together. I am trying out a few new recipes, so there will be plenty of ideas to follow in the coming weeks, as well as holiday menus.
I wanted to start with this simple broccolini salad, which upon first glace may look unassuming. But look closer and you will see hot pink! That is the amazing color of the cranberry vinaigrette. I am thinking it would make a terrific holiday hostess gift. Perhaps in a pretty bottle, with recipe ideas attached? I know will be enjoying it many times in the winter months to come. For salad variations, I may leave out the gnocchi for a lighter fare or switch up the cheese (feta, would be nice). However, I find the almond flavor and crunch to be essential, so won’t be touching that!
Broccolini Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
serves 4 as a side dish
dressing
1/2 c fresh cranberries
2 T red wine vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
2 T water
1 T Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
salad
1bunch broccolini, long stems trimmed
2 c cooked gnocchi
1 c thinly sliced fresh spinach
1/2 c crumbled ricotta salata
1 c toasted, sliced almonds
In a blender, combine all dressing ingredients. Puree until smooth, and set aside.
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add broccolini, and cook 3-4 minutes, until just tender. Transfer to a colander and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. Shake well, to remove all water, and transfer to a bowl. Add gnocchi, spinach, ricotta salata and almonds. Toss to combine and divide among serving plates. Top with cranberry vinaigrette and salt and pepper, to taste.
Reader Comments (11)
This looks so bright and delicious -- I am such a fan of broccolini because it is tender with a slight bitterness to it and to pair it with a sweet tangy cranberry vinaigrette sounds amazing!! Your pictures are food are beautiful as always, I wanted to pass along a cute little blogger award to you (it's on my site), hope you enjoy it :)
Looks divine -I am with you a bottle of that dressing would be a great gift!
This looks really yummie and beautiful! I am planning to make this for my bf when i visit him! I am so excited! I'm compiling a list of holiday recipes to make a surprise dishes for him and this will be one of it. :)
Thanks for sharing this with us! Have a lovely merry happy day and love to yoU!
wow....this looks and sounds mouth-watering! I have to try this.....can u suggest an alternate to the cranberry dressing? cos I think I'll have a tough time finding fresh cranberries where I live....
So do you blend the hard cranberries, just like that? This looks SO delicious! You are so inspiring to me.... :)
looks so perfect for now!
Hi VeggieWiz- If you can find dried cranberries, that would work just as well or if not just a simple vinaigrette would be great too. You could always add dried cranberries or another fruit to the salad too...
Jessica- Yes the hard cranberries blended up quite well!
Oh, this looks absolutely beautiful and delicious! It sounds like a great combination, I can't wait to try this dressing recipe, thanks for sharing:)
I really love this gift idea. The dressing is gorgeous. Also, I've never seen gnocchi in a salad before, what an excellent idea. This is one serious winter salad!
i love cooking with cranberries and will definitely give this one a try!
What a delicious looking salad! I've never thought to put gnocchi in a salad - great idea.