Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I need something fresh and crunchy to cut through those holiday flavors. Last year, Kim decided to try a shaved brussel sprout salad inspired by Southern Living Christmas Cookbook (Oxmoor House Publishing, 2015). This Thanksgiving salad is savory. However, adding sweet apples creates a delicious flavor combination.

The salad has a couple of steps, but I’m going to break the recipe down into sections for you. We’ll start with prepping the salad ingredients, then move on to the dressing. Afterward, I’ll go over the garnishes. As always, you’ll find some tips at the bottom of the post.

How to make a shaved brussel sprout salad:

First, start by cooking your bacon per the package instructions. Once it’s done, drain the excess grease, and crumble the bacon. Next, wash and trim the ends off your brussels sprouts. Be sure to remove any loose leaves.

Afterward, use a knife, mandolin, or a food processor with a slicing attachment, to shave the sprouts. Place them in a large mixing bowl, along with the bacon.

Now toast the walnuts and pepitas for 3-5 minutes. Only toast them long enough to bring out the oils, don’t burn them. Give them a quick chop and add them to the bacon and sprouts.

Then, thinly slice the red onion using a knife, mandolin, or food processor. Once the onions are taken care of, wash, core, and slice the apples. After that, in the large mixing bowl, toss together the brussel sprouts, onions, bacon, apples, pepitas, and walnuts.

How to make the lemon honey vinaigrette:

In a mixing bowl or glass measuring cup, combine the lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, honey, thyme, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.

I recommend using a whisk for the vinaigrette. Last, when you are ready to serve the dish, drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss again.

Garnishes:

When it comes to garnishes, here’s a list of toppers that are great for this shaved brussel sprout salad.

• Shaved Parmesan cheese
• Pomegranate seeds
• Dried cranberries
• Dried cherries
• Cherry tomatoes
• More bacon
• Shredded Carrots

Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad Tips:

• So, if you’re pressed for time, you can make the salad a day in advance. However, do not dress it until it’s time to serve the dish. Otherwise, it will get soggy sitting in your fridge overnight.
• Feel free to use a store-bought dressing. Try using a vinaigrette like raspberry or another fruit flavored variety. But, I don’t recommend cream based dressings like Caesar or Ranch. With that being said, if you do use one and like it, let us know in the comments.
• Also, you can use a food processor to slice the sprouts, apples, and onions. Don’t worry about cleaning out the processor between ingredients, it shouldn’t hurt anything to let them sit together while working on the rest of the recipe.
• In regards to toasting the walnuts, one way to tell they are ready is to pay attention to the smell. The oils give off a woody aroma when they’re close to being done. Pull them early if you’re worried about burning the nuts.