Inspired by the Brussels Sprouts Salad at one of my favorite restaurants in Delray Beach, this is a simple salad filled with bright citrus, juicy tomatoes and salty pecorino romano cheese.
Um, it’s May 1st. When did that happen?! Oy…
Did you know that May is National Salad Month? Yep, that’s a thing. By the time May rolls around, everyone wants to get into their best beach-body shape, and well, I guess that means it’s time to eat all the salad you can.
But salad after salad can get boring — unless you have a little fun with it. There are a bajillion different combinations of ingredients you can use to make a totally different salad every day for the whole month, if you really wanted to. Lucky for me, I can space my salads out through the year. In Florida, every day calls for a beach-body. Today’s salad uses shredded Brussels sprouts instead of leafy greens for the base. You throw a bunch of whole sprouts into the food processor and go to town, or if you’re feeling like taking a shortcut, just buy them pre-shredded at your local grocery store. I prefer to use my Cuisinart 8-Cup Food Processor to get my Brussels sprouts nice and shredded and ready for this Simple Brussels Sprouts Salad.
This salad is inspired by the Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad at one of my go-to spots in Delray Beach, Mastino Wood-Fired Kitchen and Bar. I tried this for the first time when I was there for lunch and now can’t get enough of it — so of course that means I have to make my own version at home! Theirs is simply shredded sprouts mixed with red onion, toasted walnuts, pecorino romano, extra virgin olive oil and lemon. What I love most about the salad is the simple flavor of bright lemon and silky extra virgin olive oil paired with that salty pecorino. I swapped out the red onion and walnuts in my salad for juicy cherry tomatoes and sunflower seeds. As good as walnuts are for you, they are just not my favorite and I will avoid them whenever possible.
It’s simple, sure, but simple can still be delicious! What’s better than a light and refreshing salad during the warm spring and summer months? Skip the boring iceberg lettuce — make this Simple Brussels Sprouts Salad to kick off National Salad Month. You can thank me later.
- 8 oz. Brussels sprouts, shredded
- 6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 oz. grated pecorino romano cheese
- 1/8 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt and pepper
- Combine Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, cheese and sunflower seeds in a medium bowl.
- Add extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice and toss until well coated.
- Season with salt and pepper.
