3firm red tomatoes, halved, seeded, and thinly sliced
A small bunch of fresh chives, finely chopped (if you get some with flowers, keep them for garnish)
Dressing:
½clovegarlic, peeled and finely grated
2tspDijon mustard
⅓cupextra virgin olive oil
2Tbspapple cider vinegar or regular vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Use a small knife to remove the broccoli florets and cut them up into smaller ones. Basically, this is your chance to make the broccoli really delicate and more salady-looking, so spend a bit of time doing this. You'll be left with the stalk, so discard the thick, dry base, then cut the remaining stalk in half length ways and thinly slice
Blanch the broccoli florets and sliced stalks really quickly in boiling salted water for 60 seconds. Drain it in a colander, then spread it around a clean dish towel to steam dry (this is important because it will help the dressing cling to the broccoli). Once completely dry, transfer to a serving dish
Fry the bacon on a medium heat with a small splash of olive oil, until crisp and golden, then spoon most of the bacon bits over your broccoli. Any left over fat in the pan can be used in your salad dressing. pour it into a mixing salad bowl with all the other dressing ingredients and whisk
Add the sliced tomatoes and chopped chives to your broccoli and bacon bits. Dress it all really well, and check the seasoning. If it needs tweaking, add a splash more vinegar. If you've got any chives flowers, sprinkle those over the top and serve right away
Notes
You can also add diced feta cheese or chopped fresh chilis through this salad. Different-colored cherry or grape tomatoes are really nice too