Why It Works
- Salt-wilting half the Brussels sprouts softens them for a more tender texture; leaving the other half raw helps the sprouts retain some of their original sturdy crispness.
- Toasting skin-on hazelnuts just until the skins take on a light wood-smoke aroma adds depth and complexity to the salad.
- Tangerine juice and zest lightly infuse the salad, adding plenty of wintry personality.
Making a hearty salad is like recruiting the A-Team: You want to assemble a diverse collection of ingredients, each bringing its own special qualities to the mix. Just as Face was the suave manipulator, Murdock the crazy pilot, B. A. the muscle, and Hannibal the master of disguises, so nuts add crunch, greens crisp-tenderness, cheese a creamy richness, and the vinaigrette moisture and flavor. But this approach overlooks another technique: manipulating a single ingredient in different ways to get more than one quality out of it.
This Brussels sprout salad does all of the above. There are the nuts—here, they're toasted skin-on hazelnuts, the skins taking on a light campfire aroma as they blister in a dry skillet. Then there's the cheese, in this case tangy, creamy fresh goat cheese that's crumbled in at the end. And, of course, there's the vinaigrette, which I spike with tangerine zest to give it some personality. What I think is most interesting about this salad, though, is how the Brussels sprouts themselves are handled.
Shaving Brussels sprouts is a common technique for salads, the sturdy little brassicas forming a dense pile once shredded. Sometimes, though, that leads to a salad with a bit too much crunch—raw Brussels sprouts aren't exactly the tenderest of greens.
This got me thinking about creative ways to deal with that issue. Roasting is one option, but that can take the dish a little too far out of salad territory. Plus, it's something we've all seen before.
As it happened, though, I'd just been working on asauerkraut how-to. The method starts by tossing and kneading shredded cabbage with salt, which wilts it through the powers of osmosis (the salt draws out moisture from the cabbage's cells, collapsing them) and the mechanical crushing of the cells through the kneading itself.
When you're making kraut, the next step is to let it ferment for several weeks, but that salted, wilted cabbage is actually delicious all on its own. So I started thinking about the sprouts: Why not salt and knead them, reenacting that first phase of kraut-making, but then toss the wilted sprouts directly into a fresh salad, no fermentation required?
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__images__2016__12__20161201-brussels-sprouts-hazelnut-goat-cheese-tangerine-salad-vicky-wasik-10-6f76278aafee45589ef16186a015fad3.jpg "Salt-Wilted Brussels Sprout Salad With Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese Recipe (1)")
I liked the idea, but I also knew that if I used them alone as the base, especially once they were mixed with a vinaigrette and creamy fresh goat cheese, the salt-wilted sprouts would come across astoosoft and damp. My solution was simple: I'd salt-wilt only half the shredded sprouts, leaving the other half pristine and raw, then toss them back together right before serving. It'd be the perfect mix of two incarnations of a single ingredient: one soft and tender, the other stout and crisp. Combined, they are definitely greater than the sum of their parts.
The salt-wilting itself is easy. Sprinkle salt on the shredded sprouts, toss well, then knead and squeeze for a few minutes until you can feel them begin to yield and grow wet as their juices are drawn out. I decided to also squeeze onto them the juice from the tangerine I was zesting for the vinaigrette, to infuse them with a little more flavor. After they've rested in the fridge for around 15 minutes or so, they're ready to go, though you can hold them for several hours at this point. When you're ready to finish the salad, just squeeze the sprouts dry of all the liquid that has accumulated in the bowl, combine them with everything else, add the vinaigrette, and toss to coat.
After the first bite, there's only one thing a person can say:I love it when a plan comes together.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__images__2016__12__20161201-brussels-sprouts-hazelnut-goat-cheese-tangerine-salad-vicky-wasik-13-bec10d355c0f4cf9b36e7d0c1cd44bcc.jpg "Salt-Wilted Brussels Sprout Salad With Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese Recipe (2)")
January 2017
Recipe Details
Salt-Wilted Brussels Sprout Salad With Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese Recipe
Active30 mins
Total40 mins
Serves4to 6 servings
Ingredients
1 3/4 pounds (800g) Brussels sprouts, trimmed and thinly shredded on amandoline, divided
2 teaspoons (8g) kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 tangerine (about 5 ounces; 150g)
1/2 medium shallot (about 3 ounces; 90g), minced
1 teaspoon (5ml)Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons (30ml)white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons (90ml)extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup (170g) skin-onhazelnuts
4 ounces (115g) fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Directions
In a medium mixing bowl, toss half the shredded Brussels sprouts with 2 teaspoons salt. Knead and squeeze salted sprouts, softening them and releasing their liquid, about 2 minutes. Juice tangerine, reserving half of peel for zesting later, and add juice to salted sprouts. Toss to coat, cover, then transfer to refrigerator for at least 15 minutes and up to 4 hours.
In a small bowl, combine shallot, Dijon, vinegar, and finely grated zest of reserved tangerine peel. Whisk in olive oil, season with salt and pepper, then set aside.
In a small skillet, toast hazelnuts over medium-high heat, stirring and shaking pan constantly, until skins are just beginning to take on a light roasted, campfire smell, about 4 minutes. Let cool slightly. Transfer nuts to a zipper-lock bag, then gently crush under the weight of a heavy pan or skillet to form large broken chunks.
Remove salted sprouts from refrigerator. Knead and squeeze once more, then drain and squeeze well to remove any excess moisture. Transfer to a serving bowl. Toss with remaining shredded raw Brussels sprouts and toasted hazelnuts. Whisk dressing, then drizzle all over salad. (Add just enough dressing to lightly coat everything in the salad bowl; you may have a small amount left over.) Season with salt and pepper, then add crumbled goat cheese, toss gently to combine, and serve right away.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__images__2016__12__20161201-brussels-sprouts-hazelnut-goat-cheese-tangerine-salad-vicky-wasik-collage-2af70ba6aa924ca49b1360627d26ddfa.jpg "Salt-Wilted Brussels Sprout Salad With Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese Recipe (3)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__images__2016__12__20161201-brussels-sprouts-hazelnut-goat-cheese-tangerine-salad-vicky-wasik-collage2-076dc585f47f49d9b8433f17bb19fac3.jpg "Salt-Wilted Brussels Sprout Salad With Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese Recipe (4)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__images__2016__12__20161201-brussels-sprouts-hazelnut-goat-cheese-tangerine-salad-vicky-wasik-12-09639273d22b411e85b5d72150b597b8.jpg "Salt-Wilted Brussels Sprout Salad With Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese Recipe (5)")
Special Equipment
Mandoline slicer
Notes
When toasting the hazelnuts, be careful not to burn them or darken them to the point of developing an unpleasant flavor. Stir and shake the pan constantly until the nuts are lightly toasted.
