Broccoli, celery and feta cheese salad with yoghurt dressing

Rich in taste and ingredients but still light in calories this salad can be also served as a light meal. Winter vegetables along with the popular Feta cheese and a refreshing dressing on top to enjoy along with some toasted bread. Broccoli is quite popular in Greece and it is grown in various regions, though the bulk of local production can be found in Northern Greece, as it does much better in cool rather than warm climates and requires regular watering

Recipe of Myrssini Lambraki

"Gastronomos" magazine of "KATHIMERINI" newspaper (2010)

Ingredients (for 6 people)

For the salad:
the florets of 2 large broccoli, lightly boiled in salted water
2 celery stalks, cleaned and finely chopped
2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of light brown sugar
3 tbsp of pine nuts (or sunflower seeds)
2 tbsp of sultanas
1/2 tea-cup of Feta cheese, crumbled
salt
pepper

For the dressing:
200gr. of Greek strained yoghurt
1 tsp of honey
1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
60 ml of olive oil
salt
pepper

Method:
Put in a large salad bowl the broccoli florets, the celery and the Feta cheese. Carefully season with salt, sprinkle with plenty of pepper and gently mix.

In a non-stick frying pan sauté the onions in the olive oil on medium heat, stirring with a wooden spatula, until they start changing colour. Sprinkle with the sugar, stir and sauté until the onions start caramelising. Then add the pine nuts (or the sunflower seeds) and the sultanas and sauté for another 2-3 minutes, gently stirring.

Empty half the contents of the frying pan to the bowl with the salad and leave the rest aside. Gently toss the ingredients in the bowl.

For the dressing, put the yoghurt, the honey, the lemon juice, salt, pepper and the olive oil in a blender and whiz until you have a smooth sauce. Pour over the salad and mix well.

Add the rest of the nut/sultana mixture on top and serve immediately.