Fresh Broccoli Salad with Orange & Cashew Dressing

I have been eating so much frozen broccoli, quick cooked in the microwave, I have forgotten what a delicious treat it is eaten raw in a salad.  While shopping for kale and nooch at Whole Foods last week, I looked at their salads in the deli case.  They were beautiful and the broccoli salad gave me some ideas I wanted to try out at home.  Here's the recipe I came up with.  You can add and subtract, tweak and twack anyway you like.  The only thing I would add next time around, is a few cutie *tangerines, peeled, sectioned and thrown in the mix.  The extra splash of orange would work nicely on all levels.

Here's what you'll need:

One large head of fresh broccoli (clean and break into small florets - I used the stems, peeling the tough outer skin and then thin slicing the more tender stalks - picture above shows only the cleaning and large pieces, not the finished small florets)

the Dressing:

1/3 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice (one orange)  Note:  I used some zest from this orange and it's easier to zest an orange peel BEFORE you squeeze it for juice.  So get a good teaspoon or more of the zest before you juice it)

1/3 cup white wine vinegar

1/3 cup raw cashews (soak in water for 1-4 hours, drain off water before adding to blender)

Blend dressing ingredients and pour over small broccoli florets.  Add pepper to taste and some orange zest and toss well!

If you have time to refrigerate for an hour or two before serving, this tastes even better after it's marinated in the dressing.

Toppings:

1-2 T. raisins, dried blueberries or cranberries.  Or a bit of all three.

1-2 T. slivered or chopped almonds (the first time I made it I used raw sunflower seeds)

1 t. sesame seeds

*1-2 tangerines, peeled, sectioned and each section cut in half, optional

more pepper to taste (I can never have enough pepper)

Add your toppings right before you are getting ready to serve up.  Give the salad one final toss and you're ready to serve up!

Yummers!