Broccolini Salad with Marinated Sumac Onions
Elevate your next salad with this refreshing herby broccolini salad topped with tangy sumac onions and a zesty yogurt dressing.
Why You’ll Love This Broccolini Salad with Marinated Sumac Onions
- A vibrant way to get in more veggies. I like to make a weekly salad that helps me get in a variety of veggies, herbs, and beans to help meet my fiber needs on a daily basis. This is one of many ways to do that.
- Layered with textures. You get cooked sautéed greens and dates, freshness from the herbs and marinated onions, and crispy baked chickpeas. A variety of textures helps bring your salads to life.
- Customizable to suit your taste preferences. I’ve shared a few tips and substitutions below to help you make this salad your own, so change it up as you wish!
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Broccolini: Can be easily swapped for broccoli. For different vegetables with similar cooking times, you can also do asparagus or bok choy.
- Dates: I used Medjool dates. If you don’t want to use dates, dried apricots can work or at the end of cooking feel free to add some dried cranberries or golden raisins to toss in with the herbs at the end.
- Red Onions: You can swap with white onion or shallots.
- Chickpeas: If not a fan of chickpeas, I recommend using roasted lentils instead!
- Sumac: Some local stores may carry this spice, but you can also find it more reliably at a local Middle Eastern market. Alternatively, if you can’t find it, add more lemon zest to taste.
- Lemon: You will need both the zest and juice, so use fresh if possible!
- Herbs: I used a mix of parsley and mint. Feel free to leave out the mint if you don’t like that flavor profile. You can always replace with some minced chives instead.
- Yogurt: I tested this recipe using both unsweetened, plain Forager Project cashew yogurt, Silk’s Soy yogurt, and Kite Hill’s Greek Style yogurt.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is best, but if you don’t want to have to slice garlic feel free to use jarred garlic.
- Oil: I used a combination of avocado oil for roasting and extra virgin olive oil for sautéing and the onion marinade.
What is Sumac?
Sumac is a spice used in Middle Eastern cuisine, especially Kurdish, Arab, Lebanese, Turkish, Armenian, Iranian, and other Eastern cuisines. Sumac in Arabic means “dark red”. It comes from ripe sumac berries that dried and ground into a powder. The resulting powder is red and has a tangy, lemony flavor that is great as a garnish to enhance lemony dishes.
How to Make a Broccolini Salad with Marinated Sumac Onions
Preheat the oven to 425F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place the chickpeas on a clean kitchen towel and carefully pat as dry as possible. If any chickpea skins naturally fall off in the process, discard them.
Transfer the chickpeas to the baking tray. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt and drizzle with oil. Toss the chickpeas to evenly coat then place in the oven on the bottom rack to bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the chickpeas to cool for 10 minutes. Give the chickpeas a good stir then return them to the oven for 10 minutes. Top the chickpeas with the onion powder and red pepper, toss again to coat, then bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool.
While the chickpeas bake, prep the salad. To a small bowl add the red onion, sumac, the juice and zest of half the lemon you prepped, maple syrup, a teaspoon of oil, and a generous pinch of salt. With clean hands, massage the ingredients together with the onions then set aside in the fridge.
Heat up a large skillet over medium low heat with the remaining oil (use more if needed). When hot, add the sliced garlic making sure it has contact with the oil. Allow the garlic to sizzle in the pan for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally until the garlic appears more golden in color.
Add the broccolini along with a generous pinch of salt and stir to coat with the oil and garlic. Sauté the broccolini for about 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally until bright green in color with a little hint of charred edges. Stir in the dates with another pinch of salt, and sauté with the broccolini for about 2-3 minutes to warm the dates through then remove from heat.
Add in the marinated onions, parsley, mint, and half the roasted chickpeas and give everything a good stir to combine.
For the dressing, add the yogurt, mustard, garlic, vinegar, the remaining zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon, syrup, oil, sumac, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to a blender cup and blend until completely smooth. Taste and adjust the sweetness and salt to your preference, then cover and place in the fridge until ready to use.
Serve the broccolini salad over your favorite grain or bread. Drizzle the salad with a portion of the dressing and top with extra roasted chickpeas for some crunch and enjoy.
Expert Tips
- Adapt the ingredients. If there is an element of this bowl that you do not like, feel free to adjust to your specific preferences. Not everyone likes fruit in a savory meal, so feel free to exclude. Can’t find sumac? Add more lemon zest instead!
- Tips for crispy chickpeas. Make sure to dry your chickpeas well in a clean kitchen towel. If any chickpea skins naturally come off in the process, just discard them. Coat with enough oil and bake on the bottom rack. I find that this helps crisp them up better then placing them up higher. When giving the chickpeas a toss, I do like to let the chickpeas cool for 10 minutes before popping them in the oven again. Once they are done baking, allow to fully cool before using.
- If your chickpeas are wet, they may pop in the oven. To avoid a mess, I like to place an empty baking tray on the top rack as the chickpeas roast. This helps to reduce a mess and keep the chickpeas from jumping to hard to reach spots in your oven.
Frequently Asked Questions
I always recommend using the yogurt brand you like best, but just make sure that the brand you use is unsweetened or plain. You definitely don’t want a flavored yogurt to ruin the flavors. For brands, I tend to gravitate towards Forager Project, Silk’s Soy Yogurt, and Kite Hill’s Greek Style Yogurt.
You can enjoy it either hot or cold! If heating, I like to add a portion to a fry pan and sauté for 3-4 minutes over medium low heat until everything is heated through.
If planning on leftovers, store the chickpeas in a glass container with a loose fitting lid. Store at room temperature on the counter for up to 3 days. The dressing and the broccolini date mixture can be stored in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days. If fully mixed, you can still store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Just note that your chickpeas will lose their crunch and soften.
You can get crispy chickpeas, but it can take additional time and techniques to really get them to crisp up. Ultimately, it all comes down to moisture. It’s important to dry them really well before roasting. Also, make sure to roast them long enough to cook off as much moisture as possible. After roasting, it’s important to allow the chickpeas to cool. This will help evaporate some of the steam that may still be there one it’s out of the oven. Chickpeas will lose their crunch over time, but you can always reheat them in the oven to restore their crispiness.
Make It Balanced
To achieve a balanced salad, it’s important to make sure you have the following elements.
- Protein
- Carbohydrates
- Produce (fruits/vegetables)
- Healthy fats
For this salad, we have protein coming from our chickpeas, carbohydrates from the dates and rice, produce from the broccolini, herbs, onions, and healthy fats in the oils and dressing used to prepare our meal. This salad is packed with fiber. Make sure if you aren’t used to eating fiber, that you work to build tolerance. This can look like consuming a smaller portion of the meal over time and increasing the portion of fiber slowly when comfortable.
More Ways to Get Your Greens In
- Smashed Cucumber Toast with Artichoke Edamame Spread
- Lemon Pepper Smashed Potato Salad
- Lemon Basil Pasta Salad
- Caramelized Leek and Potato Veggie Wraps
- Ginger Shallot Chopped Bean Salad
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
Print
Broccolini Salad with Marinated Sumac Onions
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Elevate your next salad with this refreshing herby broccolini salad topped with tangy sumac onions and a zesty yogurt dressing.
Ingredients
- Cooked rice or fluffy warm pita for serving
Crispy Chickpeas
- 1, 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Broccolini Date Salad
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp sumac
- 1 medium lemon, fully zested and cut in half
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp plus 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (use more if you feel you need it)
- 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 bunches broccolini, ends trimmed, bottoms thinly sliced and tops cut in half
- 5 Medjool dates, pits removed
- 1/2 cup parsley or cilantro leaves, minced
- Small handful mint leaves, torn into smaller pieces
Sumac Dressing
- 1/2 cup plain unsweetened plant-based yogurt
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 1–2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp sumac
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place the chickpeas on a clean kitchen towel and carefully pat as dry as possible. If any chickpea skins naturally fall off in the process, discard them.
- Transfer the chickpeas to the baking tray. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt and drizzle with oil. Toss the chickpeas to evenly coat then place in the oven on the bottom rack to bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the chickpeas to cool for 10 minutes. Give the chickpeas a good stir then return them to the oven for 10 minutes. Top the chickpeas with the onion powder and red pepper, toss again to coat, then bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool.
- While the chickpeas bake, prep the salad. To a small bowl add the red onion, sumac, the juice and zest of half the lemon you prepped, maple syrup, a teaspoon of oil, and a generous pinch of salt. With clean hands, massage the ingredients together with the onions then set aside in the fridge.
- Heat up a large skillet over medium low heat with the remaining oil (use more if needed). When hot, add the sliced garlic making sure it has contact with the oil. Allow the garlic to sizzle in the pan for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally until the garlic appears more golden in color.
- Add the broccolini along with a generous pinch of salt and stir to coat with the oil and garlic. Sauté the broccolini for about 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally until bright green in color with a little hint of charred edges. Stir in the dates with another pinch of salt, and sauté with the broccolini for about 2-3 minutes to warm the dates through then remove from heat.
- Add in the marinated onions, parsley, mint, and half the roasted chickpeas and give everything a good stir to combine.
- For the dressing, add the yogurt, mustard, garlic, vinegar, the remaining zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon, syrup, oil, sumac, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to a blender cup and blend until completely smooth. Taste and adjust the sweetness and salt to your preference, then cover and place in the fridge until ready to use.
- Serve the broccolini salad over your favorite grain or bread. Drizzle the salad with a portion of the dressing and top with extra roasted chickpeas for some crunch and enjoy.
Notes
Adapt the ingredients. If there is an element of this bowl that you do not like, feel free to adjust to your specific preferences. Not everyone likes fruit in a savory meal, so feel free to exclude. Can’t find sumac? Add more lemon zest instead!
Tips for crispy chickpeas. Make sure to dry your chickpeas well in a clean kitchen towel and if any chickpea skins naturally come off in the process, just discard them. Coat with enough oil and bake on the bottom rack, I find that this helps crisp them up better then placing them up higher. When giving the chickpeas a toss, I do like to let the chickpeas cool for 10 minutes before popping them in the oven again. Once they are done baking, allow to fully cool before using.
If your chickpeas are wet, they may pop in the oven. To avoid a mess, I like to place an empty baking tray on the top rack as the chickpeas roast. This helps to reduce a mess and keep the chickpeas from jumping to hard to reach spots in your oven.
This post contains affiliate links which means I will make a small commission if you purchase from those links. I only recommend and share products that I know, trust and personally use myself!
