Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad

Ok friends. I swore to my kids I wouldn’t try to create a healthy Thanksgiving menu, but I do think it’s good to balance virtue and vice. When you have a table filled with probably twenty pounds of butter-and carb-filled side dishes, it’s important to have something green. Yesterday in the Houston Chronicle, I had a recipe for collard green and Brussels sprout salad. You can find it online — it’s a great side to pork chops or turkey.

This colorful slaw is a similar alternative that I threw together recently to serve with roast chicken. Just trim the ends off Brussels Sprouts and pulse them in a food processor to chop them up. (I would recommend you shave them on a mandolin, but I don’t want my sweet readers missing any fingertips!) You could also opt for this comforting pumpkin, apple and honey nut squash soup; make it early in the day and let it sit on the stove while the flavors meld together.

Toss the shaved Brussels with a super simple apple cider vinaigrette, and any leftovers will be good the next day (even after tossed with their dressing). Add a variety of fill-ins: candied pecans, crispy pancetta, croutons, feta or chopped apples. But even as a simple shredded Brussels sprout salad, it’s the foil for all that buttery carb goodness that you should certainly take down on Thanksgiving.

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Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad

Author Marcia W. Smart

This colorful salad is similar to a tangy slaw. Add chopped pecans or hazelnuts, chopped apples or pears and colorful pomegranate seeds.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and pulsed well in a food processor
• 4 ounces Pecorino cheese, grated on a microplaner
• 1 large honey crisp or other tart-sweet apple, chopped into ½-inch dice, about 1 ½ cups
• ½ cup pecan pieces, toasted
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds

For the apple cider vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste (I use about
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Combine the chopped Brussels sprouts, pecorino, apple, pecans and pomegranates.

To make the dressing:

In a glass jar with a tight fitting lid, combine all the ingredients. Seal tightly and shake to emulsify. Alternately, in a medium size bowl add the first four ingredients. Whisk in the olive oil to emulsify.

Toss the salad with vinaigrette to taste, about 3/4 cup dressing. The remaining vinaigrette can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Courses Salad

Cuisine American

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