Steamed Broccoli with Creamy Garlic Mustard Dressing...

Today’s recipe is super quick and super simple. It’s a perfect side dish to make on a busy night when all you want is to be done in the kitchen fast, yet don’t want to sacrifice on flavor.

As a broccoli lover I could eat broccoli all day long, I can eat it steamed and plain without any need at all to jazz it up or make it fancy. However on this particular night I felt like something more. I had a ton of broccoli in the fridge that needed to get used, and felt like being a bit more creative about serving it. Earlier in the day I’d been flipping through my copy of Deborah Madison’s book “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” It’s a book I’ve rarely used for two reasons, 1) most of the recipes seem like they’re made for beginners or at least vegetarians just starting out, and 2) Since it’s vegetarian cooking for everyone and not vegan cooking, a lot of the recipes are quite heavy on the dairy ingredients, which I didn’t feel like working around once I’d gone vegan. That said I don’t like to neglect my books, and on this particular day I was casually flipping through it thinking in the very least I might find something interesting.

Which of course I did. I stumbled across a recipe for a mustard vinaigrette that sounded pretty good. It wasn’t vegan of course but I could fix that in a pinch. Madison suggested that this would taste good over steamed broccoli and so I was intrigued. Unfortunately as I looked over the list of ingredients I realized that I was lacking several of them. No matter I decided, I would just have to put my own spin on it. What I ended up with was absolutely delicious and paired beautifully with the tender-crisp broccoli I’d steamed. It turned out to be the perfect accompaniment to the main dish I’d decided to serve, and as I found out the following day the leftover dip also made a pretty tasty spread for raw veggies. Grape tomatoes and carrots in particular paired well with this garlicky, mustard, and caper concoction. The blend of flavors are pure magic! Give it a try next time you need to use some broccoli and just see if you don’t fall in love!

Steamed Broccoli with Creamy Garlic Mustard Dressing 

4 Heads broccoli trimmed and separated
2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
½ a small or medium sized red onion finely diced
4 garlic cloves minced (to taste)
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 ½ Tbsp non-dairy sour cream
½ C Olive Oil
1/8 C chopped green onion
1/8 C finely minced parsley
2 heaping Tbsp Capers
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Sea salt and Fresh Cracked Black Pepper to taste

- Fill a medium sized pot with enough water to cover the bottom. Fit it with a steamer basket and add your broccoli. Steam for 5-8 minutes until broccoli is bright green, tender and crisp.

- To make your dressing combine the red wine vinegar, red onion, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.

- Whisk the in the olive oil, Dijon Mustard, and non-dairy sour cream. Stir vigorously until the dressing is nice and creamy.

- Stir in the parsley, green onion, capers and smoked paprika. The dressing will be thick and chunky however if it’s a little too thick for you don’t hesitate to add in a bit more olive oil. Taste for flavor and adjust as needed.

- When the broccoli is finished remove from the steamer basket and plate. Spoon the dressing over top and enjoy!

*** Note - Can be made Soy-Free if using soy-free non-dairy sour cream. ***