Broccoli with creamy guacamole dressing, cumin-dusted chickpeas, dried cranberries, walnuts & vegan chorizo bits

I wanted a healthy low-carb Mexican dish with guacamole, and this vegetable, bean & nut salad exceeded my expectations. The creamy guacamole coats the broccoli so nicely that each spear is delicious! The roasted chickpeas add texture and protein. The dried cranberries have a wonderful sweet and sour punch. The walnuts add a nice crunch, and additional healthy fat. The vegan chorizo bits are optional, but I like them because they add additional crunch, more protein and lots of heat! If you don’t like spicy food, just omit the chorizo. I’ve nicknamed this recipe: Mex Broc and Guac

 Vegan Broc, Guac and Spice

 Ingredients:

• 1 can of chick peas, rinsed and drained
• cumin
• Salt
• chorizo (optional. I used Tofurky Chorizo Style)
• 2 large bunches of broccoli
• ¼ red onion, diced
• Prepared guacamole
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place the chickpeas on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. With a potato-masher, press down half the chickpeas to smash them. Sprinkle salt and cumin to lightly dust each one. Heat in oven for 30 minutes so that some of them are crispy-crunchy.

Place the crumbled chorizo onto a heated fry pan (no oil is needed), and cook until some pieces are crisp. The amount to cook depends on how much each person would want. One tablespoon is enough for me, but my husbands likes about four tablespoons. Think of it as crumbled bacon bits on top of a salad to determine how much to cook for each person.

Next, fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. While the water is heating up, slice the broccoli into long, thin, bite size pieces, keeping a lot of the stems attached to the broccoli flower head. After the water boils, add a few shakes of salt, and add the broccoli. Turn on the timer for 5 minutes. Check the broccoli (taste a piece) to see if it’s done enough for your liking. Some people like broccoli fairly raw, but I like broccoli that’s firm, but soft enough so that my teeth still sink into the stalks fairly easily. You probably won’t need to cook the broccoli more than 9-10 minutes. After the broccoli is cooked, drain the water through a colander. Then, add the drained broccoli to a salad spinner to remove any excess water; this makes it easy to get the guacamole to stay on, and won’t thin out the dressing.

In a large glass bowl, add the broccoli, diced red onion, and dried cranberries. Add one cup of guacamole (this is the dressing) to the bowl, and toss with your hands so that all of the broccoli is coated with the guacamole. Plate ¾ to 1 cup of broccoli on a large plate. Remove the cooked chick peas from the oven and place on a hot pad. Add three or more tablespoons of chickpeas on top of the plated broccoli. Then sprinkle one tablespoon of chopped walnuts on top. Lastly, add the cooked chorizo bits on and around the plate. Serve cold or cooled down.

Serves 4.