Brussels Sprout Slaw, with Maple Dressing

I know brussels sprouts are a little out of season here in Minnesota, but I had a craving for some slaw and that seemed like a good base.

It made a good complement to steel head trout.

Here is the recipe...

Brussels Sprout Slaw

One of the challenges in the late fall and early winter is to come up with creative salad options that use seasonal vegetables. The slaw recipe uses Brussels sprouts, carrots, red onions and apples. All are readily available in November and December in Minnesota.

Ingredients

1 Quart Brussels Sprouts finely chopped
1 Large carrot, grated
1 Small Red Onion, finely sliced
1 Apple, cored and sliced into slivers
1 cup pecans
A sprinkle of  cayenne or chiptole pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon coarse brown or Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions

Use one tablespoon of the maple syrup to mix with the pecans. When well mixed sprinkle with a little of your favorite pepper. Set the oven to 200F and toast for 10 minutes. The pecans will stick to the cookie sheet, so you will have to scrape lose.

Mix 3 tablespoons maple syrup, the mustard, salt, pepper. Wisk with the olive oil.

Toss with the Brussels sprouts, carrots, onion and apple. Let sit for 30 minutes to blend flavors.

The slaw can be used as a salad or as a garnish on a sandwich.

You may not have this available but I also added a large tablespoon of poblano relish to the dressing. This provided a little zip without being too spicy.

How to Pick Great Brussels Sprouts

This time of year one of the last plants standing is brussels sprouts. They are very frost hardy and get sweeter with first frosts. So how to pick the best ones.

The sprout enlargement typically starts at the base of the plant. So the largest and firmest sprouts start at the base of the plant (unless you have a dry year and then the largest sprouts may be at the top). We clip the top of the stalk about September 1 so the sprouts will enlarge uniformly. Triva aside how to pick the best ones.

Look for the firmest and medium size.

Yellowing of the leaves may indicate that the sprouts are old and have been picked several weeks previous. When the leaves are out of the sunlight they can yellow.

One of the restaurants that buys from us uses the sprouts for making a slaw and I don't think the firmness of the sprouts makes much difference for that use. Sprout slaw is quite good.

Brussels Sprouts

We have an excellent supply of brussels sprouts this year. Because of the very late frost this year we had green beans about three weeks longer than normal. I don't even start harvesting brussels sprouts until frost. The sprouts take the place of green beans in our market display.

Sweeter with Frost - Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are the king of the frost resistant varieties and can tolerate brief cold to 15 degrees. A few light frosts significantly sweeten the sprouts and remove the bitter taste that is often characteristic of summer sprouts. We don't harvest any sprouts until after first frost and the sprouts take the place of green beans in our market display.

So why do the sprouts get sweeter? The Brussels sprout plant replaces some of the fluid in the plant cells with fructose as a type of anti-freeze. Since these plants are some of the most frost hardy, they are also some of the most dramatic improvements in sweetness.

The Brussels sprouts are planted in late May or early June. About September 1 we remove the growing tip of the Brussels sprout stalk. This stops stem growth and forces the plants to fill out the sprouts. In early October they are pretty much filled and the harvest can begin.

Patients is rewarded with excellent sweet sprouts that we often harvest through Christmas.