Cold, crisp, cheesy and tangy: the perfect summer salad.
There’s really no earthly reason why I don’t like Brussels sprouts. I like cabbage. Why do I have such an issue with miniature cabbage?
I’ve tried another Brussels sprouts recipe here in the past, and while it was perfectly fine, I wanted to find a way to actually eat them without bacon. Because really, everything is edible with bacon. I could eat shoe leather if paired with the right amount of bacon.
While in Chicago, a colleague suggested a recipe for Brussels sprouts salad. She gave me the rough outline for the ingredients, but I didn’t have any sense of proportions. This was a wing-it effort from start to finish.
Ingredients
- About 20 good-size Brussels sprouts, woody stems removed
- 4 ounces gruyere cheese, shredded (note: this was VERY cheesy, but also very delicious)
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3 Tbsp cider vinegar
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Shred the sprouts with the slicer attachment of your food processor, or on a mandoline slicer. Toss with shredded gruyere.
In a separate bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar and oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Toss the dressing with the sprouts and cheese. Serve immediately.
Results
“Is this cole slaw?” my husband asked. When I explained that it was Brussels sprouts, he looked surprised, so much so that I was convinced that he was going to call BS. “This is good. Really good.” Henceforth this will be known as BS Salad.
The Tiny Kitchen Assistant tried it, rejected it because it was a salad, but explained that “it wasn’t terrible; other kids might like it. You know, the kind of kids who eat salad.”
Tags: brussels sprouts, cheese, easy, meatless, Recipe, salad, side dish
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this is FORCING me to try it, even though I’m straining like a dog on it’s first leash walk. So, how do you keep from shredding your fingertips on the mandolin when shredding small spheres?
My mandoline has a pretty significant gripper thingy that would grab about half a dozen at a time. Without that gripper, I wouldn’t even try the mandoline and would just slice thinly with a knife. I used my blade slicer on my food processor. In fact, I’m making it again tonight!
Brussel sprouts are the veg that REALLY taught me about how much texture (or the interplay between texture and flavor) plays a role in the things we like.
When my twins were born, we committed to making all of their food. Not a single spoonful of “baby food” ever passed their lips. Our Robot Coupe became our new best friend – whatever we ate went into the Robot Coupe for them.
I never really like brussel sprouts. Always ate them because they were easy to grow, but never loved them. What I discovered to my great surprise is that when we pureed them for the kids, they were a whole ‘nother kettle of fish, so to speak.
Since then, I’ve become quite found of brussel sprout soup (which I make with butter and cream, so it’s hard to go wrong). It doesn’t surprise me to hear you may like them off the mandoline, but not in another prep.
Moral of the story: when you think you don’t like something, change its texture and try it again.
Thanks for your post.
It’s really amazing how much effect texture can have. I made this again tonight and C was downright excited about it. Who gets excited about sprouts? But it really does make that much difference.
Your soup sounds delicious, but with those ingredients it’s almost guaranteed to be excellent.
Jeez. I dreamed about brussels sprouts last night, and I bet this is why.
Betty haunts your dreams too, huh? 🙂