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–+ servings
A close-up of a delicious broccoli salad with bacon, red onion, cranberries, and grated cheese.

Marinated Broccoli Salad with Couscous and Salami

This recipe offers a flavorful and visually appealing vegetable side dish, perfect for beginner cooks. It combines marinated broccoli with fluffy couscous, plumped cranberries, and a savory salami and almond crunch, all brought together with a tangy red wine vinegar honey dressing.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Cooling time 10 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 5 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 577
Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

Marinated broccoli
  • 1.5 medium heads broccoli 4 cups chopped small, spoon-eating size
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
Couscous and plumped cranberries
  • 1 cup pearl couscous
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Nutty salami fry up
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 100 g salami chopped into 1×1.25cm pieces, or bacon
  • 1/3 cup almonds unsalted, natural, chopped into big pieces
  • 1 red onion halved, finely sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic finely minced
Red Wine Vinegar Honey Dressing
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp honey sub maple, or 2 tsp sugar
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 clove garlic finely minced
  • 1 tsp lemon zest optional
  • 1/4 tsp cooking salt
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
Serving
  • 1/4 cup+ parmesan finely grated

Equipment

  • Jar
  • Bowl
  • Saucepan
  • non stick pan

Method
 

  1. Make the dressing: Shake all dressing ingredients in a jar.
  2. Prepare the broccoli: Chop broccoli into small, bite-sized pieces. Aim for pieces no larger than 1.5cm long. Chop the thicker stem parts smaller.
  3. Marinate the broccoli: Place 4 cups of chopped broccoli in a bowl. Add 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt, and 2 tablespoons of the dressing. Toss to combine and let sit for 30 minutes.
  4. Cook the couscous and cranberries: Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Cook pearl couscous for 5 minutes. Add dried cranberries for the last 30 seconds. Drain well, return to the saucepan, and toss with 2 tablespoons of dressing while hot. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool and absorb flavor.
  5. Prepare the salami fry-up: Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add chopped salami and cook for 1.5 minutes. Add almonds and red onion, cook for 2 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for another 1 minute until the salami is golden and the onion is softened. Add this mixture to the marinated broccoli and let cool for 10 minutes.
  6. Combine and serve: Add the prepared couscous to the broccoli mixture. Add the remaining dressing and toss well. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with grated parmesan before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 577kcalCarbohydrates: 63gProtein: 19gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 1008mgPotassium: 613mgFiber: 7gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 618IUVitamin C: 84mgCalcium: 176mgIron: 2mg

Notes

This salad keeps well for up to 3 days, even after being dressed. You can substitute red wine vinegar with white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or sherry vinegar. Pearl couscous can be substituted with tiny pasta like orzo, or cooked rice, barley, quinoa, farro, or lentils. For the salami, you can use cubed cheese or feta, or omit it for a lighter salad. Nut alternatives include pistachios, pecans, sunflower seeds, or pepitas.

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