Soak head of broccoli in a bowl of cold water to clean and remove any possible bugs; dry.
1 large head broccoli
Break broccoli into florets and slice each thinly with a knife, a mandoline, or a food processor equipped with a slicing blade. Transfer slices to a large mixing bowl.
Peel the onion and remove outer skin. Quarter and slice thinly with a knife, a mandoline, or a food processor equipped with a slicing blade; add to broccoli.
1 small red onion
Measure nuts and cranberries into the bowl with the broccoli and onion.
1 cup chopped almonds, 1 cup dried cranberries
Toss to mix, then add the dressing.
Store in the refrigerator for several days.
For the dressing:
Measure all ingredients except the rice vinegar into a wide mouth quart jar.
Hold the blade of an immersion blender at the bottom of the jar and pulse on and off 10-20 times then hold the power on.
Move the blender up and down slowly until ingredients are well blended and emulsified, about 30-60 seconds.
Add rice vinegar and process until mixed.
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
You can also use a blender:
Put all ingredients except the oil and rice vinegar into the blender container.
Turn machine on (I use a medium low speed on my Vitamix) and s l o w l y pour the oil in through the feed tube to emulsify the dressing. Adding the oil slowly is the key to emulsification. It should take about 8-10 minutes to add the oil.
Add rice vinegar and process until mixed.
Notes
One important thing to note: It’s pretty critical that the egg be at room temperature. 75 degrees or so is ideal. If your house is cooler than that, let the egg sit in a bowl of warm water for a little while.