Brussels sprout salad

Brussels sprout salad, a photo by the james kitchen on Flickr.

 

Update: Rosenkohlsalat (deutsche Version s.u.)

Please don’t go, this is a really nice salad – you have never tasted sprouts like this, I am sure. Saturday I got talking at the market and promised to put up my recipe for a salad from raw Brussels sprouts (Rosenkohl) with a lemony poppy seed dressing. I have no problem with Brussels sprouts and love them in any shape or form, cooked to perfection like my Mum does with butter and nutmeg, as this lovely (british) Christmas side with bacon, chestnuts, lemon & Marsala or like the Hashed Brussels sprouts from the New York Times which has been all the rage a few years ago and made a comeback this year. I also think it very interesting to discover new ways of preparing old favourites and to steer a bit of the already well-trodden paths of traditional recipes. This is the way to created new traditions and forge new friendships, maybe even with the much maligned sprout.

Here raw Brussels sprouts are more treated rather like a coleslaw (Krautsalat) than the usual (over)cooked sprouts that seem to frighten people beyond belief. I think the sharpness of the mustard, the intense two-tone lemony flavour of juice and oil together with the nuttiness of poppy seeds and hazelnuts are perfect company to the freshness of the whisper thin sprout ribbons and will hopefully add many more converts to the sprout fan club.

 
Brussels sprouts salad with poppy, lemon & mustard dressing
for 4 persons
1 pound small Brussels sprouts
1 handful chervil
1 handful hazelnuts, sliced
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (it has to be Dijon, not German nor English mustard)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt & pepper
3 tablespoons lemon-olive oil
Cut the Brussels sprouts finely on a mandolin or truffle slicer, to get almost paper thin confetti ribbons. Pick the chervil leaves of the stems and sprinkle together with the hazelnut slices over the Brussels sprouts and add the poppy seeds. Make a dressing by mixing the Dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt, pepper and lemon olive oil to a tangy and sharp sauce and pour over the sprout salad.

 

 deutsche Version:

Rosenkohlsalat
für 4 Personen

1 Pfund (500g) Rosenkohl, kleine Röschen wenn möglich
1 Handvoll Kerbel
1 Handvoll ganze Haselnüsse
2 EL Mohn
1 EL Dijonsenf (kein Düsseldorfer, kein englischer)
1 EL Zitronensaft
Salz & Pfeffer
3 EL Zitronen-Olivenöl (Limone)

 

Den Rosenkohl waschen und mit einer Mandoline oder einem Hobel in feine, papierdünne Streifen schneiden (Scheiben in Ringe trennen).  Vom Kerbel die Blättchen und dünnen Zweiglein abzupfen, die Haselnüsse in Scheibchen schneiden und zusammen mit dem Mohn zu den Rosenkohlbändern geben. Senf, Zitronensaft, Salz & Pfeffer verrühren, dann das Öl hinzufügen, abschmecken und mit dem Salat vermischen.