For the longest time I thought I hated Brussels sprouts. They were not on the menu at my house when I was growing up, they were not a favorite of my friends, and even as an adult I know so many people who are anti Brussels sprout. Then one day it all changed. I was at a party and tried a dip, a delicious, sprout changing dip. Of course I didn’t know it was made with Brussels sprouts and was shocked to find out. From there I found that I love them tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted in the oven. My new enjoyment of sprouts went even further when my sister in law made a shredded Brussels sprout salad at thanksgiving a few years ago. So, this week I found myself pretty excited to see the sprouts in our share boxes.
Tonight I took the idea of my sister in laws shredded sprout salad and changed it up a bit. I started by cleaning the sprouts and shredding them in my vitamix, you could use a food processor or a mandolin as other options.
Into a bowl went the sprouts. Next for a chop in the vitamix went 1/2 cup of almonds. I wanted the almonds to be very small in size, some of them were almost powdery.
The last item chopped tonight was 6 strips of cooked and crispy bacon, also pretty finely chopped.
All I needed now was a dressing to pull it all together. I decided to make a citrus vinegrette. The key to a delicious vinegrette, is the emulsion, so drizzle slowly and whisk, whisk, whisk, as well as using fresh fruit juice, it does make a huge difference.
So, start with the juice of one orange and add to that, 1 clove of garlic very finely minced or even better put it through a zester. Salt and pepper to taste. Then as you are constantly whisking, slowly drizzle in 1/4 – 1/2 cup of olive oil. Pour the vinegrette over the salad and mix well. The dressing should look as though it has thickened.
There you have it, fresh Brussels sprout salad. Enjoy!