You might notice I omitted the prime ingredient for this delicious salad, brussel sprouts. Admit it…if I had told you, would you have clicked through? We adapted this salad from one of our favorite DC restaurants, 1789 in Georgetown. If a salad of brussel sprouts makes a 4-star menu like that, doesn’t it have to be good? This is better than good. And so boat friendly–keeping lettuce in an icebox is hopeless, so you are always looking for ways to fake a green salad. More to the point, it lets you buy something wonderful and Dr. Seuss-looking like THIS:
Sure, maybe not for a long passage, but I saw these on the stalk in the grocery store and wanted them! I reasoned they would be mildly fresher than bagged sprouts, and they were lovely. And FUN.
Ingredients
- Brussel sprouts–probably 8-10 normal-sized ones per person. We used 2/3 of these for seven people
- Parmesan cheese
- Pine nuts
- Olive oil
- Vinegar (red wine or cider)
- Honey
- Creole mustard
- Salt and pepper
Here’s the laborious part — finely slicing the sprouts on a mandoline. This should be done slowly, cautiously, by the most sober of crew members…perhaps someone with time on their hands up in the cockpit after the anchor is dropped. YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL NOT TO END UP SHREDDING YOUR FINGERS INTO THE BOWL. At 1789, the shredded sprouts are all perfectly even little slices of sprout…realistically, I end up with bits of leaves, partial cuts, all sorts of odds and ends. The idea is finely-shredded…don’t worry about technique. Then shave the parmesan on the mandoline into the same bowl. Toast the pine nuts in a dry, hot fry pan and toss them in as well.
Make a vinaigrette of 3 parts oil, 1 part vinegar (in my case, about 3/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup vinegar) a teaspoon each of honey and mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss the sprouts, cheese, and nuts with the vinaigrette and serve. Unlike most salads, this one holds up fairly well for a couple of days as leftovers.