Pomegranate, Pistachio and Broccoli Salad
At the beginning of March, Taido was lecturing in London, so we decided to go over early and have a little getaway together. We do this a few times a year whenever one of us needs to be in London for something. Taido calls it “a London Jolly.”
It’s cheapest to take a London Jolly from Bristol by bus, but it’s so much more pleasant on the train. We went on the train this time to Paddington Station.
We started our time in London at The Globe Theatre to see The Tempest. The plays are at the indoor theatre in the winter, which I had never been to, but y’all…it is INCREDIBLE. It’s called The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and it is entirely lit with real candles. How is this even possible? At intermission (called the interval here in the UK), they lowered the candelabras and changed the candles out to fresh ones. The actors even held candles as they acted.
The entire production was the most fun theatre experience I can remember. Half the actors were hidden in the audience. Someone would pop up next to you and interrupt the play and soon it would become apparent that they were part of the show. At one point, Prospero stopped mid-sentence to tell a woman in the audience to stop filming the play. He was very cross and went back and forth with her for an uncomfortable minute before she put her phone away. Then about 30 minutes later, the lady, for whom we were still suffering second-hand embarrassment, got up and joined the play as one of the actors. So clever.
It was wildly fun and I would return in a heartbeat to see whatever is showing at this theatre.
After the show, we went to the Mithraeum, an ancient Greek temple that was discovered after bombing during World War Two. It’s in the basement of the Bloomberg building. Someone on one of my tours told me that you can visit it for free, so it’s been on my London list for a minute.
Then we made our way back to East London in the neighborhood we always stay in. We stay right around the corner from Brick Lane, where the best bagels in the world are on offer 24/7 and curry restaurants line the road. Also it’s an easy bike ride from Columbia Road Flower Market if I happen to be there on a Sunday morning.
This time we walked to Dishoom in Shoreditch for dinner. Dishoom is a Bombay-inspired London staple that has now made it’s way to many other UK cities and even is opening in New York City(!), but we still don’t have one in Bristol. I resisted going there for a while, because of the hype (there’s always a long wait outside), but Taido convinced me that it lives up to its reputation and he was not wrong.
We loved everything we ordered: Gunpowder Potatoes, Black Dal, Chapati, and Broccoli Chili (Chilli) Salad.
The next morning, while Taido was lecturing, I did the Regent’s Canal walk that goes all the way from the Thames River at Limestone to Little Venice. I have walked part of it before, but never this entire 10-mile stretch in one go. I stopped in Camden for lunch, spent a little time reading in the sun on a bench and then met Taido for dinner at Bondi Green, a restaurant I love that is super close to Paddington Station. Even as much as I love Bondi Green, I was wishing for the same dinner from Dishoom after walking all day.
Around 7pm, we hopped back on the train and headed home to Bristol.
A successful London Jolly for sure.
In the days following our time in London, I was still dreaming about our meal at Dishoom so I started experimenting with copycat recipes. I was excited to find that the Broccoli Salad is actually available on Dishoom’s website (as well as several other recipes).
When we were in London, I picked all of the hot pepper out of my salad (I know…I am such a lightweight when it comes to spice), so I have adjusted my recipe to not include the peppers. And I added sunflower seeds and pomegranate seeds.
I have made this salad every week since we got back from London nearly two months ago, and I’m still not tired of it. I love to eat the leftovers for lunch the next day.
Here’s my version of the recipe. Feel free to add a red chili (chilli) pepper back in if you like!
Pomegranate, Pistachio and Broccoli Salad
Salad Ingredients:
2 medium heads of broccoli
150 grams (3/4 cup) roasted pistachio nuts
50 coriander leaves
8 mint leaves
50 grams (1/4 cup) roasted pumpkin seeds
50 grams (1/4 cup) roasted sunflower seeds
50 grams (1/4 cup or 8-10) pitted dates, chopped small
1 pomegranate, seeded
Dressing Ingredients:
50 milliliters (1/4 cup) lime juice (the juice of about 2 limes)
8 thin slices of ginger
1 teaspoon salt
40 grams (3 tablespoons) sugar or honey
25 milliliters (1/4 cup) rice vinegar
150 milliliters (3/4 cup) mild olive oil or vegetable oil
10 mint leaves
Instructions:
Cut the broccoli into very small pieces. Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients with an immersion blender (or in a blender). Pour over the broccoli.
Note: I like to do this step early in the day so that the broccoli has time to marinate in the dressing, which softens the broccoli a little so it’s a little less raw, but still crunchy. You could also blanche the broccoli for one minute and then drop it in an ice bath, but letting the dressing marinate has worked well for me.
In the meantime, I chop my dates, seed the pomegranate, toast the nuts and seeds, and tear the mint and coriander leaves.
I like to leave all these ingredients in separate little bowls during prep, and then I toss it all together just before serving.
Makes about 6-8 servings.
Enjoy!
