Broccoli Stem Coleslaw – A thrifty, tasty salad

I was preparing broccoli a while ago, by removing the florets for steaming, and I was just about to throw away the broccoli stems, when I stopped and wondered what else I could do with them. I could have cleaned them up a bit and froze them for making soup at a later date, but I remembered I had tried broccoli coleslaw at sometime in the past and thought it was a tasty alternative to regular coleslaw.

Broccoli Stems

After I had finished making dinner that night, I whipped out the food processor and set about shredding a little red (purple) cabbage, grating some carrots and the broccoli stems. I mixed them together with a little mayonnaise and seasoning. It was a success. The slight bitterness of the broccoli balances really well with the sweetness of the carrot. Since then I have only ever made broccoli coleslaw.

Broccoli Coleslaw is a very thrifty way of using up something that is just normal thrown away, but it has the same nutritional content as the florets. Also I’ve found that broccoli stems last a very long time in the refrigerator, so you can save them up to make broccoli coleslaw if you don’t have enough, but a small amount of the stems goes a long way. You can make this coleslaw in advance of needing it, but don’t season it, or mix any dressing or mayonnaise through it until you are ready to use it, as it will become soggy.

Broccoli Stem Coleslaw

Total time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 broccoli stems
• 2 large carrots, peeled
• quarter of a red cabbage
• 2 tbsp of mayonnaise
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Tidy up the broccoli stems to remove woody or very fibrous pieces and peel any rough outer exterior. Using the grating blade of your food processor, grate the carrots and the broccoli stems. Switch to the shredding blade and shred the cabbage. Mix together, cover and store until needed, or season with a little salt and black pepper, and then mix thoroughly with the mayonnaise.

Sometime I also add some frozen corn kernels to the coleslaw to add a little more colour and sweetness.

• 
  Chef's Knife
• 
  Vegetable Peeler
• 
  Food Processor
• 
  Mayonnaise