I've been in a "side dish" rut. You can only serve steamed broccoli so many times before the family starts to get wise to your lack of innovation. So, I've been searching for inspiration for side dishes.
Thanks to "Parents" magazine, I came across this winner a few weeks ago. I love that you can prepare it, pop it in the refrigerator, and just pull it out when you are ready for it. That makes it perfect social gatherings at my house in which MEAT is the main event. When that meat gets pulled off the grill, everything else needs to be ready to go! This side is ready when you need it.
Here's what you need:
4 cups of small broccoli florets
1 15.5 ounce can of no-salt-added Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
1 8 ounce package of frozen, shelled edamame (sometimes packaged as "Mukimame"), thawed
2 limes, juiced (1/4 cup)
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 tsp. sesame oil*
4 tsp. reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 tsp. of each, salt and freshly ground pepper
* We've discovered from previous food preparation that sesame oil upsets my husband's stomach. Therefore, I just replaced the sesame oil with canola oil. It turned out fine!
Make sure to pick up soft limes for maximum juice. I don't think you can go wrong with a little extra lime juice in this recipe, so I used three limes. Next time, I'm going to try grating a little lime zest into the vinaigrette.
I found a pre-packaged container of broccoli florets in my grocer's produce section. I did not do a scientific comparative analysis, but I figured that the higher cost per pound of the pre-packaged florets was offset by the amount of a broccoli head that you are throwing away in order to get just the florets. For instance, if the pre-packaged florets cost twice as much per pound as the pound of a head of broccoli, then it's about the same cost because you are only taking the tops of the broccoli head, but paying for the discarded trunk. Maybe I'll do an experiment on it at a later date.
Directions:
1. In a large serving bowl, combine the broccoli, beans, and edamame.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, canola oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, and pepper.
3. Toss the prepared vinaigrette on the broccoli mixture.
4. Let stand for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or up to one day, covered, in the refrigerator.
Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition Information:
283 calories
13 g protein
14 g fat (2 g saturated fat)
29 g carbohydrates (10 g fiber; 5 g sugar)
3 mg iron
172 mg calcium
399 mg sodium
Recipe adapted from "Parents" magazine, May 2016
