Shaved Brussels Sprouts & Kale Salad with Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette

WHAT'S SPECIAL

Delicious salad for lunch all week or a healthy dish for a crowd.

Make this recipe for your friend that just moved to a new house, for your next gathering with friends or just for yourself as a week’s worth of super healthy lunches. You’ll definitely want to make extra of the roasted shallot vinaigrette to serve on roasted veggies and pretty much everything.

This shaved brussels sprouts and kale salad is the best

When I was working full time as a farmer and also DIY renovating our kitchen, the kale salad from my favorite local lunch spot, The Whistlestop Grocery, saved my life, a few times. It’s a hearty salad that I actually look forward to eating, pretty much right after I finish breakfast. I’ve been dying to recreate this recipe with the roasted shallot vinaigrette now that I have plentiful kale coming from my garden and a real kitchen to make it in.

Yes, another kale salad and why you should grow your own brassicas

I’m not tired of kale salads! We should all keep eating kale salads! Kale is a real workhorse in the garden and is generally available at the store year-round. Although it’s fast-growing and extremely cold-hearty, plants in the brassica family (I’m looking at you, kale & brussels sprouts) can actually be a little tricky to grow.

No matter where you live, cabbage moths will find your brassicas and lay eggs on the underside of the leaves that turn into hungry little green caterpillars. They are relentless all season long and can decimate your plant in just a few short days. They will chomp along happily skeletonizing the leaves and leaving only the stems. This is why in conventional agriculture, kale ranks near the top as one of the most heavily sprayed with pesticides, and why it’s really important to buy organic or grow your own.

In the home garden, a simple cover over the plants will do the trick. Both insect netting and row cover will physically keep the moths from getting into all those little nooks and crannies of your kale leaves. It works like a charm and you’ll have picture-perfect kale for this recipe.

Tips for making shaved brussels sprouts & kale salad

  • Roasting the shallots before blending them into the vinaigrette really mellows the flavor of an already mellower onion. It’s really easy to pop them in the oven and prep the rest of the salad in the meantime. If you skip this step, the dressing will be much brighter and tangier.
  • This salad makes a nice big amount, perfect for a week’s worth of ready-made lunches, or the best thing to bring to your next gathering or potluck.
  • If you’re making this salad to have throughout the week, keep the dressing in a separate container and add it at the time of serving. This will keep the salad nice and crunchy all week long.
  • For a little extra protein, add some cooked quinoa or a piece of roasted fish and then pat yourself on the back for making such amazing healthy life choices.

Shaved Brussels Sprouts & Kale Salad with Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette

Delicious salad for lunch all week or a healthy dish for a crowd.
Servings 8
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

Salad

  • 1 bunch curly kale
  • 1/4 red cabbage
  • 1 lb brussels sprouts
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 1/2 cup roasted & salted sunflower seeds

Vinaigrette

  • 2 medium shallots
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 3 T mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 3 T white wine vinegar
  • 2 T maple syrup
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Set oven to 400 degrees. Slice shallots in half length-wise and remove skins. In a small cast iron skillet or roasting pan, sprinkle shallots with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for 20-25 minutes until soft.
  • While the shallots are roasting, prep the salad. In a large bowl gently toss stemmed and finely chopped kale, thinly sliced red cabbage, golden raisins and roasted sunflower seeds. Run the brussels sprouts through the slicing blade on the food processor and add them to the salad.
  • Make the vinaigrette: Wipe the food processor clean and add the roasted shallots, mayo, dijon, white wine vinegar and maple syrup. With the food processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil until a smooth dressing forms. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • If prepping salad for individual portions, keep the dressing separate and dress each salad at the time of serving. If serving immediately, dress the whole salad and serve immediately.
Course: Savory

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @growingwithgertie on Instagram.

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