Brussels Sprouts Kale Salad

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You know that saying “suns out, guns out”? Well, it’s almost that time of year. So, it’s time to get the guns ready so to speak…

Meaning, cut down on some of the fattening food we have been consuming and get our arms (and the rest of our body) ready for shorts and T-shirts. That means throwing a few more salads into the lunch and dinner mix.

In order to get my husband interested in salads, I have to get creative. I look for inspiration everywhere. This salad is loosely based on one that they serve at Whole Foods in Park City, where I travel often.

The Whole Foods version always looks tempting, but when I bring it home I usually find it dry. The thing about raw kale and raw Brussels spouts is they need a lot of dressing for them to soften enough to be appealing to eat, and the dressing needs to coat the lettuces for a while to make it work.

The trick here is to make a super flavorful dressing that is not unhealthy so you don’t ruin the health benefits of this superfood-packed salad. This salad dressing offers a splash of flavor, with the sesame seeds and lemon. It should be tangy, so it’s a nice balance of oil and vinegar, and you can use as little or as much as you like. I like to get the leaves fairly covered with the dressing so they soften and wilt just enough. But, if you want to go light, feel free. You can always add more later.

I made this dish on a whim one Monday after a weekend filled with indulgences and was surprised by how much of a treat it was. It was delicious and a huge hit around our house. I filled our plates with a large amount of the salad and a much smaller amount of the chicken/broccoli pasta, and we both finished satisfied.

If you want to make this salad a main dish, like I did for lunch the next day, add nuts for the crunch and protein. You could also add some dried cranberries and cheese, if you want too. It would be hard to go wrong. And while I loved the salad made just a couple of hours before we ate it at dinner, it was even more delicious the next day.

I hope it helps with your guns, if you need it. It can’t hurt the efforts!

 

Allison Arthur

Owner and publisher of Dishing magazines in Jackson and Park City.

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