Long Lost Brussels Sprouts Salad

Years ago I used to make this recipe.  Repeatedly.  I loved this recipe and it reminded how versatile the maligned, to frequently overcooked brussels sprout was.  Then the recipe was gone.

A year had passed since I made it and I could not remember where the recipe was located.  I scoured by cookbooks and my frequently used food blogs.  I goggled it countless times to no avail.  The recipe I remembered had disappeared.

On a whim yesterday, I goggled brussels sprouts salad.  I remembered it was simple, had nuts, and cheese in it.  That was all.

There it was--on the second page of my goggle search my missing recipe, gone for five years, at least, waited for me.  I recognized the blog name--not one I frequented, but one I had found a few good recipes from.

I do not want to lose this recipe another five years.  It's too good.  It's too simple.  I made this in the fifteen it took me to sear my kofta.

Long Lost Brussels Sprouts Salad
from Shutterbean.com
serves 4- 8, depending on how much people love brussels sprouts

1 stalk of brussels sprouts (approximately 24 or maybe a lb), shredded (I use my food processor blade)
1/2 c Parmesan, grated (the good stuff here, folks.  As in the stuff that comes in a wedge, not in a can)
1 c toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
9 T olive oil (again, the good stuff)
3 T apple cider vinegar
2 t Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Toss the shredded Brussels sprouts in a bowl with the grated cheese and toasted walnuts.  In a small jar, vigorously shake the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper.  Pour dressing over the salad and toss to coat all the Brussels sprouts.  If you feel like the salad needs more dressing, make more dressing and coat to the desired amount.

Will keep a day or two max, but it really will be eaten before then.

Winter Lentil Stir Fry

The name stir fry is a bit of a misnomer for this recipe.  I am not quite sure what else to call it though.

This meal had mixed reviews from my family.  Curtis and I loved it.  The boys ate it pretty well too, especially the brussels sprouts (Yay for brussels sprouts loving boys).  M refused it on the grounds of being too tired to eat something new.  The original recipe called from a homemade mint sauce to drizzle over top.  We don't currently have a thriving mint plant and buying fresh mint in the stores is a little costly.      We opted instead to pick up some mint chutney at our favorite Indian restaurant just around the corner from us.  It was actually cheaper and quite tasty.  If you aren't a mint chutney fan, you could also top with some olive oil and Parmesan, goat cheese, or another chutney or curry sauce.

This meal will quickly find a place in our menu rotation.  I figure next M may like it better, and if not, that is her loss---and our gain.

This will serve 4 -5.

Winter Lentil Stir Fry
adapted just a bit from 101Cookbooks.com

1 c uncooked brown lentils
olive oil
8 - 10 very small new potatoes, cut in half, or fourths if potatoes are on the large side
12 - 16 brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (or quartered, again depending on size)
1/4 c almonds, sliced are preferable, but whole will do if that's all you have on hand, toasted

mint chutney
plain Greek yogurt for topping (optional)

In a medium saucepan, cover lentils with about 2 - 3 inches of water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 20 - 30 minutes, until lentils are soft but not mush.  Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 1 - 2 T olive oil over medium heat.  Put the potatoes in the skillet, cut side down and sprinkle with a little salt.  Cover the skillet and let the potatoes steam for five minutes.  Check the potatoes.     If they are not fork-tender (but not mushy and falling apart), add 1/4 c of water, cover again and let steam for another five minutes.  Once fork tender, stir them about a little.  Add the lentils and cook until they are heated through.  Remove from pan and set aside.

In the same skillet, add a little more olive oil and add the brussels sprouts cut side down.   Over and cook for about 3- 5 minutes, or until the bottoms of the sprouts begin to brown.  Taste a sprout to see if it is tender throughout.  If not, cover and continue to cook.  Once the sprouts are tender, uncover, increase the heat, and cook until the cut sides have begun to caramelize.  Add the lentils and potatoes back to the skillet along with the toasted almonds.  Heat and then put in a serving bowl or platter to serve.  Drizzle with mint chutney and yogurt as desired.

Bagna Cauda Salad

Raw beets? Raw turnips? Raw radishes? In a salad with anchovies? I wasn't sold but the picture looked so pretty I decided to try it anyway, mostly because I had so many turnips in my fridge.

Turns out, Curtis and I both love it. I've made this twice now. I've rotated some different winter veggies in to the dish as they show up in my CSA box (and then crisper). If you have it on hand, you can also use 1/4 small butternut squash (seed and peel it--the send end is preferable) and 8 trimmed brussels sprouts. Thinly slice the squash and pull all the leaves off the brussels sprouts.

This recipe calls for a lot of thin slicing. If you are not adept with a knife to cut the vegetables paper thin, use a mandoline. Just watch your knuckles---slicing your thumb knuckle on a mandoline because your kids have lost the protective guide. I'm not talking from experience or anything. :) Almost all your prep time is spent cutting and slicing the vegetables. The rest goes quite quickly.

Just a note on the beets. If you don't care if your turnips and cabbage turn pinkish, you can stir in the beets as enthusiastically as you desire. However, if you want your whites white, stir a little dressing into the beets before you add them to the salad. Toss the salad very gently just to incorporate the beets.

Bagna Cauda Salad

adapted from Amanda Hesser's recipe on Food52.com

2 small carrots, trimmed (peeled if store bought, not necessary if just picked)

2 radishes, trimmed

2 small turnips (or 4 very small turnips), trimmed and peeled

2 small beets (or 4 very small beets), trimmed and peeled

2 - 3 leaves of cabbage, sliced thinly

1/4 c parsley, chopped

4 anchovy fillets

2 small (1 medium) garlic clove

salt

2 T lemon juice

5 T good extra virgin olive oil

Prep the veggies: The radishes, turnips, and beets should be sliced as thinly as possible using a mandoline or your wicked knife skills. These veggies should be translucent. Put the radishes and turnips in a small to medium sized serving bowl. Set the beets aside in a small mixing bowl. Cut the carrots into 3" long matchsticks (each matchstick about 1/8" thick or so). Add the carrots, cabbage and parsley to the radishes and turnips in the serving bowl. Mix with your hands to combine vegetables.

The dressing: You have several options. If you have a good mortar and pestle, that is sufficient. I don't. You could also use a mini food processor or blender. I don't have those either. Using a knife (or one of the other methods which involves the equipment I don't have), finely mince the anchovies and garlic. Combine to make with the salt to make a paste. Place in a small glass jar, add the lemon juice and olive oil, and shake vigorously. Season with salt and adjust the amount of lemon juice and oil as needed.

To create salad: Pour half of the dressing over the vegetables (not the beets yet) and blend with your hands, separating the vegetables as necessary. Mix very well. Taste and add more dressing if you would like. Once seasonings are how you like, very, very gently mix in the beets. Let rest for 15 minutes or so before serving.

Brussel Sprouts Salad

Raw Brussels sprouts? Really? Seeing as 3 years ago I'd never tasted brussels sprouts and only remembered them being in a Sesame Street song, I've come pretty far. Turns out, I even like Brussels sprouts raw!

Curtis and I enjoyed this salad. Curtis told me that this was his favorite "strange" salad that I make (he believes the perfect salad is some very fresh lettuce with some good olive oil and balsamic vinegar). This is definitely worth the trip to the Farmer's Market for Brussels sprouts. The kids didn't eat it, but that was fine with Curtis and I.

This serves 4 -6, unless you love it as much as we do! This tastes best if you let it stand for an hour before serving.

Raw Brussels Sprouts Salad
adapted slightly from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite by Melissa Clark

10 oz Brussels sprouts, trimmed
juice of 1/2 lemon
coarse salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
1 c toasted pecans, chopped
3/4 c Gruyere, Pecorino Romano, or Manchego cheese, grated

Chuck (that's a real good cooking term, isn't it?) the Brussels sprouts into a food processor fitted with the slicing disc. (This is a fun part for kids to help with because there's lots of instant excitement). Put the sprouts in a bowl and toss with lemon juice and a little salt and pepper. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add the olive oil and toss well. Gently stir in the pecans and cheese. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately or let stand for one hour before serving.

Brussel Sprouts Gratin

As a relative newcomer to brussel sprouts, I am still a little unsure at time. I've found a recipe or two that I love, but branching out leaves me a little hesitant. I found this recipe in Fresh from Garden and I figured I couldn't go wrong with a cream sauce and lots of cheese.

I was right. I didn't love the Brussels sprouts, but I loved!! everything else about it. Curtis thought it was tasty. We managed to get M to try it, but weren't surprised when she didn't like it, especially she wanted a Brussels sprout without the cream (that's the best part!). Now I have another Brussels sprouts recipe in my arsenal. It's more expensive and unhealthy than the roasted Brussels sprouts I love because of all the cheese. However, it doesn't involve having to find fresh rosemary somewhere (grow little herbs! Grow!).

Brussels Sprouts Gratin
1 1 /2 lbs Brussels sprouts, trimmed (and removed from stalk)
4 T unsalted butter
1 1/4 c heavy cream
1/4 lb fontina cheese, cut into 1/2" dice
4 T mild goat cheese, crumbled

Simmer Brussels sprouts in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water for 10 - 12 minutes, or until tender. Drain well and cut in half through the root end. Place in bottom of 6 c baking (preferably oval gratin, but I didn't have one) and set aside. Meanwhile, melt butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the cream and simmer until reduced to 3/4 c, stirring occasionally. Pour over the Brussels sprouts. Sprinkle with fontina and goat cheese. Bake in preheated 350 degrees oven for 15 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 425 and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the cream is absorbed by the sprouts and the top is nicely browned. Serve hot.

In the CSA box today

Purple cauliflower! It's lovely. It seems a little strange to eat cauliflower so purple, but I am excited about it nonetheless. Equally exciting are the nice, young scallions. Also in our box:

5 tomatoes (I think greenhouse tomatoes. I know they are from a different farm)
1 stalk brussel sprouts
3 grapefruit
3 oranges
1 purple cauliflower
2 bunches scallions
1 cabbage
1 small bunch of kale
3 small turnips
1 large bunch of collards
3 kohlrabi
1 bunch baby bok choy

The menu for the coming week could be a little interesting. We are moving to a new house next Wednesday and at the very least, the cabinets won't quite be finished. That translates to living out of boxes in the kitchen for a few days. I don't have grand aspirations for the coming week. I hope to cook as much as possible between now and Monday, when I intend on packing up our kitchen. The plan is to use the leafy greens first and save the foods that I know will last longer, like root vegetables and cabbage. We also aren't getting a CSA box next week, because I figured this one would last us two weeks. I apologize in advance for spotty blogging. Don't look for much in the line of new blogs though at all next week (unless you want a run down of microwavable grocery store food and take out in the area I moved to). Hopefully by the first of February things will be regular again.

Here's a feeble attempt at a menu:
Thursday: Fettuccine with Greens (and Sausage) with sliced tomatoes and olive oil
Friday: Leftover Chicken Mole with a side of roasted cauliflower and brussel sprouts
Saturday:
Sunday: Eggs Foo Yung (with some Baby Bok Choy and scallions thrown in) with sliced tomatoes


Plus:
Cabbage for Reuben sandwiches (easy lunches)
Tuscan roasted kale (for snacks. There isn't really enough kale to cook with so the recipe in this month's Bon Appetit magazine looked perfect for what I had).
Grapefruit for breakfasts
Oranges for snacks (and one reserved possibly for another batch of cinnamon rolls, we'll see how tomorrow goes)
Waffles with frozen strawberries (picked at Sweet Berry Farms last spring) Sunday morning for breakfast
A batch of granola for quick, easy breakfasts or lunches with yogurt

Roasted Cauliflower and Brussel Sprouts

Even though I've said this a lot, I never really liked brussel sprouts or cauliflower before joining a CSA and being forced to find ways to eat them. This is hands down my favorite recipe for both. The flavor is wonderful. Nothing is soggy, mushy, or overcooked. Curtis enjoys this recipe quite a bit as well. J didn't eat any and M stated she doesn't like cauliflower cooked in the oven. We finally got her to eat a little by rinsing it off in the sink (Curtis told her it was rinsed and he steamed it). Then she liked it just fine. 3 year olds.... We served this as a side for Delilah's Macaroni and Cheese (a half recipe was tons!!) that my brother made for supper.

The recipe recommends marinating this overnight. I wasn't so organized so it didn't marinate at all and was still really tasty. I am sure marinating would only make it better but it's ok if it doesn't happen.

Roasted Cauliflower and Brussel Sprouts
1 medium cauliflower, cut into 1" florets
2 c brussel sprouts, havled lengthwise
2 T olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 t fresh rosemary
1/2 t pepper

Combine cauliflower and brussel sprouts in a large bowl. Drizzle olive oil over top. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 450. Spread vegetables in a single layer on greased cookie sheets. Sprinkle with 3/4 t coarse salt. Roast at 450 until vegetables are crisp-tender and beginning to brown at the edges, 15 - 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Serve hot or at room temperature.