Food with JP passion – Brussel Sprout Salad
By JP Kennedy
John Paul Kennedy is a self-taught cook and an avid fan of collecting cookery books with a passion for good old-fashioned home cooking. His passion for proper family cooking stems from his TWO Grandmothers, who were both excellent cooks, one of whom was a trained chef. JP promises to bring us plenty of family-inspired recipes and tasty treats while showing us how to get the basics right.
Continuing on the trend to try and have a healthy start to the new year, but not totally ready just yet to let go of Christmas, this really refreshing recipe is reminiscent of Christmas as it uses shredded Brussels sprouts which are so delicious in a salad.
I made this for the first time last year not long after Christmas one Saturday for my aunt Brenda who came for supper.
We both adored this slightly different take on a salad which while healthy and good for you, conjures up fond memories of Christmas with the use of Brussels sprout and dried cranberries.
This recipe works great as a light refreshing starter or make a larger portion for your main evening supper meal!
Ingredients: Serves 2- 4
- 200g diced pancetta
- 300g Brussel Sprouts
- 80g dried cranberries
- 100g fresh mozzarella chopped into small chunks
- or you can use blue cheese
- 100g chopped toasted walnuts
- 1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
Dressing
- 100ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of Dijon Mustard
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
Method:
1. Place a frying pan on a medium heat and add in the oil. Once the oil has heated up add the pancetta, increase the heat to high and cook for 2-3 minutes tossing it regularly until it’s nice and crispy.
2. Peal the outer leaves of the Brussel sprouts and place into a large mixing bowl.
3. Make the dressing by adding al of the ingredients into a bowl and whisk together.
4. Sprinkle the toasted walnuts, dried cranberries and crispy pancetta into the bowl with the Brussel sprout petals. Then pop the chopped mozzarella pieces on top add the dressing and toss it all together.
5. If serving as a starter divide between four serving plates if serving it as a main meal divide between two!
I’m a firm believer in everything in moderation and whilst, like a lot of people, I try to be more conscious of what I eat after the Christmas festivities I still allow myself one little treat per day.
My daily treat is usually something with my evening cup of tea from a batch of something I’ve baked earlier in the week (this weeks treat is my delicious Baked Vanilla cheesecake) but, I will definitely have this salad some evening.
You can add grilled chicken or tuna if you fancy making it a more substantial meal however I generally have it on it’s own as the combination of sweet cranberries, delicious sprout petals and crunchy walnuts is enough in the way of texture and taste alone to excite the tastebuds and satisfy my appetite.
I hope you enjoy this delicious alternative salad recipe!
CONTACT JP ON:
Twitter: @JPKCooking
Email: JPKCooking@gmail.com
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