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Author:
Tracy Nawara
The person who brings a show-stopping salad to an event is usually the life of the party. Bringing an impressive dish makes you the talk of the town with guests begging you for the recipe before the night is over. This is one of those recipes.
This quick Easy Purple Brussels Sprouts Salad is a fabulous raw salad that features nuts, cheese, fruit, and vegetables. It is stunning in color thanks to the purple sprouts and cranberries, who get to know each other well in the Shallot Vinaigrette. It is a sweet and tart salad that everyone will love!
Purple brussels sprouts are easily found during the warmer months and have a beautiful purple hue much like purple cabbage. The green and purple color add so much visual interest to the salad, so it’s highly recommended to locate some of these veggies to make this salad. If you cannot find them, of course, you can use regular fresh brussels sprouts.
Since brussels sprouts are pretty plain on their own, they can handle a lot of flavors in this salad. Any salad requires multiple layers of flavor, usually from elements that are tart, sweet, spicy, savory, or acidic. The tartness comes from the cranberries and orange juice in the dressing. The sweetness is from the fruit and fruit juice, and the acidity is from the vinegar and feta cheese.
Even if you do not like brussels sprouts, you should make this dressing for another salad. This vinaigrette is the perfect go-to recipe for salad dressing. It goes well with so many flavors and combinations of produce, so keep this dressing recipe for all of your salad recipes moving forward.
Shallot Vinaigrette requires apple cider vinegar, freshly squeezed orange juice, chopped shallots, honey, Dijon mustard, and extra virgin olive oil. The integrity of this vinaigrette is all depending on the quality of ingredients used, so be sure to use the best honey and vinegar that you can find.
If you were to leave out the feta cheese and replace the honey with maple syrup, you can make this into a vegan salad. You could also add bacon to the salad to add a smoky element. This beautiful purple salad is best served chilled alongside a meaty main course.
For those looking for a sweet and savory salad, look no further. This crunchy and colorful purple brussels sprouts salad will be the highlight of your dinner table. It is perfect for a potluck, Friendsgiving, or any family gathering.
For the Shallot Vinaigrette:
Start by slicing your purple brussels sprouts. You can do this by hand with a knife or by using your food processor. If using your food processor, add the shredding attachment. Feed 4-5 purple sprouts at a time and push through with your tamper until all sprouts are thinly sliced. Dump all the sprouts into a large bowl.
To the same bowl, add the apple slices, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, and most of the feta cheese, reserving some of the feta for topping of the salad.
In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients. You can also do this in the blender or food processor if you want the shallots blended in. Whisk until the ingredients combine and the oil and vinegar are no longer separated.
Top the salad with the dressing and toss everything together using salad tongs. Add to a serving bowl and top with the rest of the feta cheese. Chill until ready to serve.
