Smokey Broccoli Salad – it’s Better with BRITA

Since the weather started hotting up, if you’re an avid reader of this here blog (which of course you are!) you won’t forget the importance of staying hydrated and drinking lots of water whilst exercising and also whilst not! …but I think sometimes we forget what a big part water plays in our lives…for example we don’t just drink it, we cook with it too!

So it makes sense that BRITA have joined forces with TV chef Lisa Faulkner to launch the Better with BRITA campaign to draw attention to how much we use water as an ingredient and how using BRITA filtered water results in better tasting food!

It was only right that I put this to the test, huh?! BRITA sent me over a gorgeous red / pink Marella Jug in addition to some recipes to help inspire me; I decided to give the Smokey Broccoli Salad a go 😉

recipe card

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1kg sprouting broccoli (tenderstem broccoli can also be used)

2 red onions, finely sliced 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

1 fresh red chilli

100g smoked pancetta lardons

200g dried puy lentils

1 litre chicken stock made with BRITA filtered water

3 bay leaves

25g butter Olive oil

Salt & pepper

ingredients

Method

1. Soak lentils overnight in BRITA filtered water, drain, put in a pan and cover with the chicken stock and bay leaves. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes or until tender.

2. Take off the heat and leave the lentils in the stock. Meanwhile cook the broccoli in boiling BRITA water for 5 minutes and drain.

3. Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the pancetta and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring continuously to get an even colour. Once golden, add the onion, garlic and chilli and stir for a further 2 minutes.

4. Drain the lentils and add to a large mixing bowl with the broccoli and pancetta mix. Stir in the olive oil, season to taste and then serve as a lovely alternative side dish.

***

I used this recipe as a side to my main of a home made roasted chicken pie; it tasted great!…the perfect accompaniment.

I firmly believe in sourcing quality ingredients; we only have one body so we should always be considerate of what we put into it. I have been using filtered water since I stopped buying bottled water many light years ago but I still cooked and made hot drinks with tap water! The evidence of limescale could be seen in my kettle as opposed to my mums kettle which still looks sparkly new because she uses filtered water! …think about it…when you cook lentils, like in this recipe, the lentils soak up the water…and that same kettle water is what I used to use to make my stock…

I am definitely going to continue to cook with the BRITA filtered water from now on! You can pick up your own Marella Jug from leading retailers with prices starting at £21.

Do you use bottled, filtered or tap water?! Leave me your thoughts and comments below 😉 …then stay tuned for some more great recipes from BRITA!

Elle 🙂 x

Lisa Faulkner is launching the ‘Better with BRITA’ campaign highlighting how she uses BRITA filtered water as an ingredient in cooking for the best tasting food and drink. For details of BRITA products go to www.brita.co.uk.