Last night’s dinner was an old favorite, Hawaiian braised pork over rice. In contemplating a side dish, I wanted to make something more interesting of broccoli than your basic pile of steamed or roasted florets, and this warm slaw with orange and almonds in an Asian-inspired dressing was the result. Jeremy and I both went back for seconds, but Nolan was perfectly content to eat his broccoli raw. It always takes that little hand reaching up on the countertop to remind me that he likes broccoli this way, no dip required; as sensitive as I am to textures, he seeks them out, and raw broccoli provides a lot of good tactile stimulation in the mouth.

Warm Broccoli Slaw with Orange and Almond

1/2 C onion, grated
1/2 C carrot, grated
2 C broccoli, grated or chopped into fine florets (or use 3 C broccoli slaw)
2-3 T sesame oil
1 T olive oil
1/3 C slivered almonds (I just sliced whole almonds)
1-2 clementines, peeled and segmented
1 T soy sauce or tamari
1 T sugar, preferably organic
1 T rice wine vinegar, or to taste

Grate the onion, carrot and broccoli, in your food processor if you have one. (I had only pre-cut florets, so grating my broccoli gave an almost ground result, and I ended up using a knife to chop my florets into tiny shreds.) Add the oils to a large skillet over medium high heat until they shimmer, and add the almonds. Toast, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes, until they are golden brown and fragrant, then dump in the vegetables and clementine segments. Toss to coat with the oil, then add soy sauce, sugar, and rice vinegar to taste with a pinch of salt, and allow to cook until the vegetables are just wilted and the clementines have deflated a bit.

Source: Freely adapted from Cooking by the Seat of My Pants.