A Healthy Rebound From Super Bowl Food: Crunchy Broccoli Salad with Red Bell Pepper and Sesame

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Ah...now for something healthy.  Did you know that Super Bowl Sunday is the second largest eating day after Thanksgiving?  It makes sense.  You have 3 to 4 hours to just sit in front of the TV and eat and drink and eat and drink...  You're usually gathered with friends and family and funny innovative commercials keep you tied up at the breaks.  As the top rated TV show in American history, Super Bowl 2012 and more specifically the NFL have the Midas touch.


OK, enough about football.  Since sitting and eating lead to a sluggish feeling the next day, I am sharing this tasty and flavorful broccoli dish with red bell peppers to once again build a healthy feeling.  Both vegetables are high in vitamin c (great for the winter), dietary fiber and red peppers pitch in a lot of the antioxidant Lycopene.  The addition of Asian flavors such as sesame, soy sauce and wasabi brightens the dish and adds complexity of flavor.  It's great with grilled salmon and brown rice - that may be taking the health kick a little far, but after Super Bowl Sunday we need an extra kick.

Crunchy Sesame Broccoli Salad with Red Peppers

serves 4

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons oriental sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon of wasabi paste

1 head of broccoli cut into florets

1 red bell pepper chopped into 1/4" pieces

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Blanch broccoli in boiling for about 3-4 minutes.  

Drain and run cold water over.

In a small bowl combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and wasabi paste until blended.

Toss dressing with broccoli and red pepper.  Sprinkle sesame seed on top.