My cousin Terri Gallamore brought this fantastic salad to a family meal and I immediately asked for the recipe. The original recipe from Mark’s Daily Apple is wonderful. My version is a little friendlier to beginner cooks who don’t stock specialty items like avocado oil and shallots.

Vegetarians: this salad would probably be tasty without the bacon and cheese but my family loves those ingredients and I haven’t tried omitting for a vegetarian version.

• 6 slices bacon, fried crisp and chopped
• 2 Tablespoons minced red onion (or shallot, or yellow onion)
• 3 Tablespoons extra light or virgin olive oil (or Lemon essence olive oil)
• 2 Tablespoons bacon drippings
• 2-1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon coarse brown mustard (or Dijon; if all you have is yellow use 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 14-16 oz. shredded Brussels sprouts, available at most large grocery stores
• 1/2 Cup chopped cilantro leaves (can also use parsley)
• 1 Cup pecan halves, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles (or Gorgonzola)
• 2 avocados, chopped

Fry the bacon over medium high heat (7 on a scale of 0-9) and remove from pan. There should be about 2 Tablespoons of bacon drippings (oil and crispy bits) left. Prepare ahead of time to discard any extra drippings in a safe way, like lining a cookie sheet with foil and pouring the grease onto the foil to cool and harden to discard later or save for cooking beans or eggs in the future. Don’t pour hot or cool bacon grease down the drain.

Brown the minced onion in the bacon drippings over medium high heat for about 1 minute. Transfer the browned onion and any remaining grease the onion hasn’t soaked up to a small food processor. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, and salt and pepper. Blend on high speed to thoroughly mix the dressing.

Place the Brussels sprouts in a bowl big enough to toss the salad, pour over the dressing and toss well. Add the cilantro and toss again.

Cover the top of the salad with chopped avocados then scatter the pecans and cheese over the avocados. Use tongs to gently work the toppings further down in the salad. Too much tossing will result in all the toppings on the bottom of the bowl. If this happens, just top with a clean bowl and invert the salad then serve in the new bowl with the toppings back in place.

 

Serves: 8