Silverbeet and broccoli salad with herby avocado dressing

Green on green on green is good

By Alice Zaslavsky | Dec 24, 2024

Silverbeet and broccoli salad with herby avocado dressing

Grapes’ tart sweetness with the bitter earthiness of the silverbeet is all brought together with a creamy, zippy avocado tahini (which is totally a tahini guac). It’s very #health without feeling like you’re going without. You’re only using the silverbeet leaves here, so chop the stalks to sweat with onion for any kind of stew or soup, anywhere you’d use celery (you can also freeze for ’ron).

If you can’t be bothered slicing with precision, cut the brocc into chunks and pulse in a food processor. Add as much garlic as you want – I like mine garlicky, obvs.

Yields: 4 - 6

Total Time:mins10mins

Ingredients

1 broccoli head
1 small fennel bulb, about 200 g (7 oz), fronds reserved for garnish
½ bunch silverbeet (Swiss chard), leaves only
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
300 g (10½ oz) green grapes, halved

Herby avocado dressing

2 spring onions (scallions), green parts only, white parts finely sliced and reserved
½ cup coarsely chopped dill
½ cup coarsely chopped parsley leaves
¼ cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1–2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 ripe avocado (a creamier variety like Hass)
1 tablespoon tahini
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon salt flakes
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Final bits and bobs

2 tablespoons pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted

Directions

Step 1

Boil 2 cups (500 ml) of water.

Step 2

Trim and peel the broccoli stem, then slice it thinly along with the florets, following the shape of the broccoli. Do the same with the fennel bulb. Pop both into a heatproof colander and pour the boiling water over the top.

Step 3

Roll the silverbeet leaves up and thinly shred with your sharp knife. Rub the leaves with the olive oil and a pinch of salt flakes to macerate.

Step 4

To make the dressing, blitz all of the herby avocado dressing ingredients in a food processor to a thin paste. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Step 5

Toss the drained veg, rubbed silverbeet and the grapes together in a serving dish, then drizzle generously with the dressing (feel free to leave any leftovers in a jug on the table) and finish with a sprinkle of pepitas, reserved spring onion whites and fennel fronds.

Alice Zaslavsky is The Salad Woman. Her goal? For you (and every other salad lovin’ soul) to make a salad day, and every meal a moment to get your veg on. For warmer days, Alice promises salads that are designed to refresh and replenish. For cooler days, there are salads that will sustain, nourish and ground. It’s a 365 day-long affair.