This is the time of year that I start to really crave those amazing farmer’s market freshly picked leafy greens. I know this is not what everyone craves in December but for me the crunch of good lettuce leaves is something I do enjoy. We recently have been including BIG salads into our daily diets. (Pictured to the left. Jason’s is one meal mine is easily two!)
Since the lettuce is a little lackluster and big salads become extremely boring to me. (Not Jason he could eat them every day.) I have turned to cabbage salads for my daily go to during the winter. One thing I love about any type of cabbage salad is the longevity. I can easily make the salad Sunday evening and still be eating it on Thursday. This cuts down on my prep time and gives me an easy lunch every day.
November got a little away from me so I never did finish up my vegetable of the month on brussels sprouts. Many might think this is due to the fact that so many folks hate brussels sprouts and that I just gave up trying to convince everyone out there to eat them.
Not so!
In fact I have been working on perfecting this shredded brussel sprouts salads. I tried a couple of different vinaigrettes, cheeses and even compared adding crasins versus pomegranates. (A fruit often added to Brussel Sprouts salads.) I decided to pass on pomegranates. I like them but they were just to much work to put a quick salad together.
The recipe below is what I came up with, my new favorite salad. I have to say that it is also very Christmas-y looking.
Just a little side note: the week I photographed the salad for the blog I used purple Brussel Sprouts. They do not look as holiday inspiring or photograph well but they taste just as good. (The salad above is from this week and photographed much better!)
If you’re adding this salad to any holiday meal you can balance out all the fat and sugar typical with these type of dinners with the healthy benefits of Brussel Sprouts! As mentioned in our last blog these little guys are full of vitamin K, C and Fiber.
With this recipe you can be as lazy as you want or really dig in for the freshest brussel sprouts out there. i.e. the ones on the stalk. My local Trader Joes has had these for the last month and they are fantastic. More work for sure but the taste is truly fresher.
Plus as it turns out the stalk can become a great chew toy for your pup. Mine decided to steal it off the table once I was done getting all the sprouts off!
After cutting the sprouts from the stalk, then starts the chopping. You can either use an attachment on your food processor or just cut as thin as possible like below.
If the whole stalk is not available or it just seems like too much work. No worries! Brussel sprouts can often be found already shredded and ready to go from the store. My only caution is to really look through the bag and make sure there are not brown spots. This usually means they are old. Keep looking for the greenest ones available.
Before I start all this chopping I get my hazel nuts ready. First you want to remove as much of the skin as possible. I use a clean towel and try to rub them together trying to get the brown skin off. Then place them on a sheet pan with parchment paper already down. Bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes. Once you smell the scent of hazelnuts you know they are ready. Take them out and set aside to cool. Once cool enough go ahead an roughly chop.
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Once your Brussel sprouts are all shredded then move on to making the vinegrette. Place the following in a mini blender:
- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
- 3 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1.5 Tablespoons of Maple Syrup
- 3 Tablespoons of lightly chopped Shallots
- 1 Garlic clove
Give it a whirl, making sure everything is well mixed. If you don’t want to use a blender just make sure to really dice the shallots and mince the garlic. Then just whisk everything together.
Now its the time to throw the salad all together!
Mix in to the shredded sprouts:
- 1/2 cup of the roasted, chopped hazelnuts
- 1/2 cup of cheese, I used a Goats milk Gouda from Trader Joes but a regular parmesan works great as well. Make sure to cut these up in to small cubes.
- 1/2 cup of Craisins
Lastly, toss with the dressing and Enjoy!
Shredded Brussel Sprout Salad
Prep time: 25 minutes
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 1 lb Brussel Sprouts, shredded
- 1/2 cup of the roasted, chopped hazelnuts
- 1/2 cup of cheese, I used a Goats milk Gouda from Trader Joes but a regular parmesan works great as well. Make sure to cut these up in to small cubes.
- 1/2 cup of Craisins
- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
- 3 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1.5 Tablespoons of Maple Syrup
- 3 Tablespoons of lightly chopped Shallots
- 1 Garlic clove
1. Preheat the oven to 325. Rub the hazelnuts with a clean towel removing as much skin as possible. Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cook for 10-12 minutes until the hazelnuts become fragrant. Remove, let them cool and then chop roughly.
2. While the hazelnuts cook start shredding the Brussel sprouts.
3. Next place the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, maple syrup, shallots, garlic plus some salt and pepper in a blender. Mix until well blended.
4. Mix the shredded Brussel sprouts with the Craisins, cheese and hazelnuts.
5. Toss the above mixture with the salad dressing. Enjoy!