Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad

It’s the best time of the year, holiday season! Why do I like holiday season so much? Well, besides being around family and the holiday cheer…. the food is the best part! Let’s be honest, Thanksgiving is a time where there is no such thing as a diet so give me all the carbs and bring on the food coma’s. I figured there has to be one semi “healthy” recipe I put up for Thanksgiving, so here it is my shaved brussels sprout salad.

So brussels sprouts seem to be in the love them or hate them category of foods. I am a lover and usually eat them about once a week, but usually roasted with a ton of garlic (obviously you all know me by now). This dish actually has no garlic (pause for sad moment) and the brussels are NOT cooked. Please trust me on this, I was skeptical and my household was not interested in uncooked brussels either, but then they ended up having 3 servings each of this.

Let’s start with the main attraction of the dish, the brussels. As I noted before, we are not going to be cooking these so rinse them well and cut off the stems. Now comes the shaving. This part is very important because you want them as uniformly cut as possible, so the consistency and taste is perfect. I used a mandoline WITH a cutting guard (please don’t chop your fingers off at the expense of one of my recipes). Yes they are dangerous if you do not exercise care, but you can not beat the uniform cut and how fast you can prep the sprouts. If you do not have a mandoline, you can use a knife and slice them thin or maybe you can use a food processor and lightly chop (I haven’t tried this before though).

Once your brussels are beautifully shaved, put them in a large mixing bowl and start the vinaigrette.

This vinaigrette is the second most important part to the recipe because your brussels are going to “marinate” in this and it’s what makes them so tender and tasty. In the vinaigrette is: red wine vinegar, shallot, olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper. You want to whisk all of this together, pour it into the bowl of brussels, mix, and then cover the brussels with plastic wrap. Let it sit and marinate for 20-30 minutes (this is a non-negotiable step).

While your brussels are hanging out and marinating, it’s time for the bacon! The bacon adds such a nice salty complimentary flavor to the salad. I used applewood smoked bacon (which I personally think should be made into a candle), but you can substitute regular bacon.

Once the bacon is done cooking, place the bacon on a plate with paper towel to drain the excess fat.

I also used my mandoline on the thicker setting to cut the apples. I used the slices around the dish and then added some chopped up pieces within the salad. I used fuji apples, but again you can use other apples if you already have them on hand.

 

Now comes the easy part, assembly! Mix all the ingredients together and place in a large serving bowl.

There you have it folks, a salad that will change all the brussels sprouts skeptics into believers!

Things you’ll need: Large mixing bowl, cast iron skillet, mandoline, small mixing bowl, plastic wrap

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