12.27.2010

Brussels Sprout Slaw...finally

I have a story to tell you, but I'm going to save it for when I have more than five minutes to write it out.  As a spoiler, the title is The Christmas Mouse.  Is your interest peaked?  Good, then I hope you come back in a few days to read it. 

Today I do have something exciting to tell you about, but there has been so much build up to it that I don't think it will take me very long to say it.

Brussels sprout slaw.

You may have been wondering why it took me a month to finally post it here, after many broken promises that it was coming soon.  Well, the truth is, I liked the original, but I didn't love it.  I felt like it needed something so each time I opened my blogger account to describe it, I just stared at a blank screen.  I write this little blog to tell you about the recipes and food that teach me to appreciate what I eat in new ways.



So I waited until I had the opportunity to make the slaw again and fix what I thought needed tweaking.  Before I give you my new, improved recipe, I did want to say that this was just to my taste and you should feel free to make this as the original recipe suggests. 

Brussels Sprout Slaw
adapted from food52
serves 2-3 as a side dish

The issues I had with the original were only small.  The biggest one was the even though the recipe suggest soaking the red onion to soften the bite, I still felt like the onion flavor was so intense that it overpowered the rest of the flavors.  As a result, I swapped the red onion for green onion.  I also thought that the slaw needed more sweetness to balance the sharp acidic flavors so I balanced the amount of honey and whole grain mustard.  And lastly, I just didn't feel like buying Pecorino just for this slaw, so I used Parmesan and thought it was perfect. 

For a more colorful salad, add some red cabbage or toasted nuts like almonds.  They would also add nice texture, and I would have thrown them in if I had them lying around.  This recipe would easily double or triple for a large group but I warn you that the slicing of the sprouts is tedious even if you use a mandoline!

Ingredients for the slaw
1.5 cups thinly sliced Brussels sprouts (about 10 sprouts)
2 or 3 green onions, sliced and using both the white and light green
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Ingredients for the dressing
zest of 1/2 a lemon
juice of half a lemon
1 tsp honey
1 tsp whole grain mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

In a medium bowl combine the Brussels sprouts, green onions, and Parmesan cheese.  In a separate small bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, mustard, and olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add the dressing to the slaw and toss.  Chill for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

Will store covered for 8 to 10 hours in the refrigerator. 

3 comments:

  1. yum! been waiting for this recipe. i just started liking b.s. and i'm looking for new ways of preparing them.

    thanks for posting.

    and can't wait to hear about the christmas mouse!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've never had brussels sprout slaw, but I've been hearing a lot about it recently, and it sounds pretty up my alley; I love brussels sprouts, I love onions, I love dressing, and I love raw vegetables. I also really appreciate that you actually made a vinaigrette with the proper proportions (3 parts oil to 1 part acidic liquid), because that's the only way dressing really comes together properly, and so often people make it with not nearly enough oil.

    Maybe I'll try it with super thinly sliced leeks, instead of the onions? They have that onion taste without the bite...

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sounds terrific! Thanks so much for sharing it. Hope you had a great Xmas!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!