Now this is my kind of salad loving week! Finally the temperatures are starting to feel a bit like Spring after Mother Nature was clearly on crack with her snow storm last week. But I digress…I was on a mission this week to find a new salad to try out, because I realized that it has been a while since I’ve featured a salad. So I bring you the Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad.
I was pretty excited when this recipe popped up on Pinterest, and with a name like Love and Olive Oil, I knew I had gone to the right site! This is quite the departure from my typical Brussels Sprouts adventures, because the base of this salad is, you guessed it, Brussels Sprouts and they are not cooked. I love a great side of sprouts, but a salad with raw sprouts made me slightly skeptical. However I am a fan of raw cabbage, so I could begin to imagine the possibilities.
I gotta say, this salad is delicious. It is very simple but why it works so well. And I was forced to take my chances with the mandolin again after the last debacle where I sliced off part of my thumb…whoops! However this time around…SUCCESS!! The great thing was the Brussels sprouts are shaved using the mandolin (on it’s thinnest slicing setting) and you can use the stems on the sprouts as a handle to protect your fingers. So it was surprisingly easy and luckily painless.
The salad came together pretty quickly, and I always love when that happens. Begin by throwing together the dressing made of apple cider vinegar, honey, olive oil, and salt & pepper. Then thinly chop the apples. I cut them like matchsticks so they’d be thin like the sprouts. Then toss the apples in a little bit of dressing to keep them from turning brown. Remove the outer leaves of the sprouts, rinse and dry them. Then thinly slice them with the mandolin, toss the sprouts, apples and dressing together and let the salad sit for at least 15 minutes. After that just serve up the salad and grate some Pecorino Romano cheese over the top.
The combination of tart apples and sweet honey, sour vinegar, sprouts, and pungent cheese truly make for a bright, crisp salad. This would be the perfect side or starter salad for nearly any meal. I’m officially a giant fan of this salad, and I can attest that the leftover salad tastes just as great the next day.
If you’re a Brussels Sprouts eater like me, and you’re looking for a fast, healthy, bright salad then look no further, you’re in for a treat! Click here for the recipe and step by step instructions.
A look back
One year ago: Cupcakes & Beer
Two years ago: Challenge: Souffle
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it.