Thanksgiving recipe: Brussels sprouts salad with mustard vinaigrette

Blanch Brussels sprout leaves and they become tender enough to use in a salad. Combine them with dried fruit and nuts and dress the salad with a tangy mustard vinaigrette, as in this recipe from La Grande Orange in Pasadena, and you’ve got a perfect fall first course, as demonstrated in the video above by Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter. You can find the recipe below.

Brussels sprout salad is one of the favorite holiday recipes we’ve collected in our “Los Angeles Times Holiday Handbook.” The book shares more than 110 seasonal recipes to help you celebrate Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s. We’ve also updated last year’s “Los Angeles Times Holiday Cookies,” so it now includes 65 recipes from a wide range of sources, from world-famous pastry chefs to home cooks.

Each book is $4.99, and they are available at the Los Angeles Times bookstore for Kindle, Nook and iBooks.

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You can find Noelle Carter on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Pinterest. Email Noelle at noelle.carter@latimes.com.

Brussels sprout salad with mustard vinaigrette

Total time: 40 minutes

Servings: 1

Note: Adapted from La Grande Orange Café. Spanish Marcona almonds are available at Trader Joe’s and well-stocked supermarkets. Manchego cheese is available at cheese stores and well-stocked cheese sections of major markets.

Mustard vinaigrette

2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar, more as desired

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice with pulp

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 1/2 teaspoons whole grain mustard, more as desired

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

3/4 cup light olive oil

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the honey, vinegar, lemon juice and zest, mustard and garlic. Continue whisking while slowly drizzling in the olive oil until the oil is thoroughly incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and brighten the dressing as desired with a little extra vinegar and mustard. Chill well before using. This makes a generous cup of dressing, more than is needed for this recipe, and will keep for 1 week, covered and refrigerated.

Salad

1 pound Brussels sprouts

1 tablespoon dried cranberries

1 tablespoon dried blueberries

2 tablespoons toasted whole almonds, preferably California or Spanish Marcona

3 tablespoons mustard vinaigrette

1 ounce Manchego cheese, shaved using a peeler

1. Peel the leaves from the Brussels sprouts, discarding the core. In a large pot of boiling water, blanch the Brussels sprouts leaves just until they are a vibrant green and barely tender. Drain immediately and place in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and dry well. You should have 3 cups of leaves.

2. In a large bowl, toss the Brussels sprouts leaves, cranberries, blueberries, almonds and just enough vinaigrette to lightly moisten.

3. Mound the salad on a plate, and top with the cheese shavings. Serve immediately.

Each serving: 572 calories; 13 grams protein; 36 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams fiber; 44 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 19 mg. cholesterol; 311 mg. sodium.