Tom’s Kitchen: Shaved Raw Brussels Sprouts Salad

Not your grandpa's Brussels.

Nothing splinters a Thanksgiving table quite like Brussels sprouts. Most people loathe them, conjuring the mushy, sulfurous orbs that famously taunted Beaver Cleaver in the ’50s. Others actually like Brussels that way, and will devote themselves to fussily cutting an “X” into each one, before steaming or boiling them into submission. Then there’s the new-wavers like me, who adore them roasted with plenty of garlic and olive oil. This year, I’m whipping up a pox on all houses—or possibly, an (extra-virgin) olive branch to unite them.

Your grandpa’s Brussels.

There’s so much rich, roasted stuff on the Thanksgiving table that I’m going raw with Brussels this year—shaving them into a crunchy, zingy salad. But because this is for our national feast, there has to be some richness involved. So I worked in a slice of bacon. (For vegetarians, I recommend omitting the bacon and adding either some toasted walnuts, grated Parmigiano Reggiano, or both.)

Shaved Raw Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon-Lemon Vinaigrette
(Serves 4-6 as a side dish)

1 thick slice of bacon from a pastured hog, chopped into small chunks
2 small cloves of garlic, crushed, peeled, and minced
1 pound Brussels sprouts, tough outer leaves peeled
1 bunch parsley, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste

It’s a mandoline’s world.

Cook the bacon in a small frying pan over low-medium heat until the chunks are brown and crispy and have rendered their fat. Turn the heat to low and remove the bacon bits with a slotted spoon, letting the fat drip back into the pan. Set the bacon bits to the side. Add the chopped garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, just until the garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat.

Slice the Brussels very thin, using either a mandoline (here’s the cheap, effective one I use) or a very sharp knife.

Now make the vinaigrette. In the bowl you plan to serve the salad in, add the olive oil, the bacon fat/garlic combo, the lemon juice, a good pinch of sea salt and a robust grind of pepper. Whisk. Now dump in the shaved Brussels, the parsley, and the bacon bits. Toss, taste, and adjust for seasoning.