Pear & Brussels Sprouts Salad

With all the Romaine lettuce contamination scares in the United States, I decided to use Brussels sprouts as an alternative salad base. The maple-balsamic dressing and the pears make this salad so sweet and delicious that we literally fought over the bowl. I never thought I could learn to love those little ‘heads’ so much.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients

Salad
    1 pound of BRUSSELS SPROUTS, pulled and sliced
    2 ripe PEARS, chopped
    1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries (CRasians)
    1/4 cup PECANS, coursely chopped
Dressing
    2 tablespoons of extra-virgin OLIVE OIL
    1 tablespoon of MAPLE SYRUP
    1-1/2 tablespoons of BALSAMIC VINEGAR
    1 teaspoon DIJON MUSTARD
    1/4 teaspoon SALT 
    1/8 teaspoon PEPPER
    1/4 clove GARLIC, optional

Directions

• In a medium bowl, prepare the salad dressing by WHISKING together the oil, maple syrup, vinegar, and mustard and then salt and pepper to taste. Add garlic if you want a little extra kick.
• CLEAN the Brussel sprouts by cutting off the stalk end and then pull off and discard the tough outer leaves. SLICE the Brussels sprouts as thin as you like with a very sharp knife. I mix both ripped leaves and thinly sliced pieces for a nice texture. 
• In a large bowl, MIX Brussel sprouts, pears, cranberries, and pecans.
• POUR salad dressing over mixture and TOSS salad.

This recipe was inspired by “Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Maple-Balsamic Vinaigrette” from Martina’s Kitchen Mix by Martina McBride.