On Brussels Sprouts

And my newest favorite salad dressing.

Welcome to the Friday recipe post for paid subscribers! This week’s recipe is a crunchy Brussels sprouts salad that I have made twice in the last five days. It is a marvel! On Tuesday, all subscribers will receive my thoughts on cooking during the holidays. I cannot believe I’m saying this, but that is one of the last three posts left in 2023!

I am guilty of a lot of things, but burying the lede is not one of them: this recipe is for a salad, but the most amazing, beautiful, life-changing component is the vegan bacon bits-inspired dressing that goes along with it. It’s smoky and fatty and full of umami from the toasted flax and sesame seeds. It’s indulgent and naughty-tasting while very innocent and simple to put together.

Quite simply, this sort of dressing is a revelation. It gives us vegetarians a taste of that which we no longer eat and fills the role I think meat was meant to play: the best supporting actress to our forever star, the vegetable. (Oh the movies I could cast with the recipes I create!

Of course, we need to give a quick shout out to the vegetables themselves: though I once hated them, Brussels sprouts are a wonderful way to get your greens in the cold depths of winter. Hearty enough to roast, layered enough to take a deep fry, and tender enough to eat raw (if well dressed), the humble sprout really can do it all, just as shown here.

I’ve found in my testing over the last few weeks that this method for a winter salad works well with many vehicles: choose a hearty green (kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, etc) and roast half while massaging the other with olive oil, lemon juice, and sea salt. Combine the roasted greens with the raw greens, and let winter wash over you. See? Winter has salads, too!

Crunchy Brussels Sprouts Salad