One of the great things about growing your own vegetables is that you can grow what you really, really, like! We LOVE Brussels sprouts! In our area Brussels Sprouts are in season right now. I really do not have to buy them as almost every farm market carries them. I do grow them though because nothing beats the flavor of a freshly harvested Brussels Sprout popped right into my mouth!
I had a great crop of Brussels sprouts growing in my winter garden. I had been harvesting the lower sprouts from early January on and was eagerly awaiting the formation of those majestic Brussels Sprout stalks. There were twelve plants in the garden with nice 2-3 ft. stalks towering.
This should have ended up being a very nice spring harvest…until they started to go to seed! So this weekend I pulled out my Brussels Sprouts and salvaged what I could. My harvest was one bowl of small sprouts that would have cooked down to nothing.
So you know the old adage? “When you get lemons…make lemonade!”. I did exactly that! Except my lemons were tiny Brussels Sprouts and I made this amazing Cranberry Bacon Brussels Sprouts Salad!
This is a super easy salad, a little chopping, some sauteeing, assemble and a simple squeeze of lemon and EVOO for a dressing. That’s it because I dislike fancy recipes that take the spotlight away from freshly grown produce. In my version I used leeks from my garden also but shallots or green onions would also be nice.
I chopped my Brussels Sprouts up finely and set aside, then chopped up a bit of bacon and cooked it until it was crispy, setting aside and reserving the drippings. In the bacon drippings I sweated my thinly sliced leeks and a handful of dried cranberries.
After the leeks are slightly transparent and the cranberries have softened, set aside. Then in a large pan lightly sautee the Brussels sprouts for 2-3 minutes until they have softened a bit and are a nice bright green. Do not overcook! Then add the Brussels sprouts, bacon. leeks, cranberries together, season with salt/pepper, a nice drizzle of EVOO and a big squeeze of lemon. EAT!
So that is it. This salad would be a great addition to an Easter meal or even just a simple main dish salad. I love just assembling what is freshest in my garden with pantry staples and seeing what tasty things I come up with!
Source: LIFEOFTHEORIGINALHORTBABE | CRANBERRY BACON BRUSSELS SPROUTS SALAD
