Cooking With Maddie Newsletter #67
Shaved Brussels Sprout & Kale Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
Hi friends!
It’s been months since I’ve been in your inbox, and for that I’m sorry. So much has been going on, and I haven’t found a chance to sit down and send out a proper newsletter. Well, that ends right now.
The world looks quite different since my last newsletter. For starters, there’s snow on the ground, Christmas decorations are up, and bellies are still full from Thanksgiving. My twenties came to a close, another election came and went, and Wicked hit theaters. So much has happened, and yet — the year’s not over. Not just yet.
Somehow in the midst of all the crazy, we’ve managed to still spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It’s the season for soup, so we’ve been having bowl after bowl— chili, dilly bean stew, chickpea stew, red lentil tomato soup and more. We roasted chicken over a bed of carrots, made short ribs low and slow, and feasted on some classic Filipino dishes. We even made a birthday cake! And I still haven’t given up on sourdough. Every week, I’m taking a crack at a new recipe, trying to get my bearings with the finicky thing.
But there’s one recipe that we’ve been making on repeat, so much so that I even made it for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner, and that’s a Shaved Brussels Sprout & Kale Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette.
Now, I have to admit. I am on a bit of a kale kick, in general. This year, our garden’s kale popped off. I mean, it went wild. More wild than I ever imagined. I found myself scrambling to think of ways to use it up, and I even started giving it away to the neighbors. The result of the overabundance of kale in our garden was using kale in recipes more than ever before. And to my surprise, we actually really loved it.
This Shaved Brussels Sprout & Kale Salad is probably our favorite. The secret? It’s thinly slicing the kale and Brussels sprouts. I’m not going to lie to you — it’s a labor of love. Doing it by hand takes TIME. You will get a hand cramp. You’ll be so pissed at me for making you do it. But I swear— it’s so worth it. And the good news is — you don’t have to do it by hand. You can absolutely use a food processor to shave the Brussels sprouts, but unfortunately, I have not found a hack for thinly slicing the kale. That one you’ll just have to do.
The recipe below makes enough salad for a large group. Feel free to increase or decrease the ingredients, to fit your needs — or make a big salad, and save it for later. This is a salad you can definitely make in advance, and it doesn’t get disgusting as it sits in the fridge.
Here’s what you’ll need for the salad—
6-8 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
1 pound Brussels sprouts, thinly sliced or shredded — you can do this by hand or with a food processor (see how here)
1 bundle of kale, stems removed, thinly sliced — see how here
1 cup dried cherries or cranberries — I personally prefer dried cherries but cranberries may be easier to find at your grocery store
1 cup manchego or parmesan cheese, cubed, sliced or shaved
1 cup roasted pepitas
Salt
And here’s what you’ll need for the Shallot Vinaigrette—
1 large shallot, peeled and finely minced
1 garlic clove, grated
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon dijon or whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Let’s start by baking your bacon. Yeah, you read that right. Baking the bacon. I find that baking is the easiest, most consistent, least messy way to cook bacon, and it allows you to cook several pieces at a time.
Start by setting your oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a rimmed baking sheet (like this one) with parchment paper and an oven-safe baking rack. If you don’t have a baking rack, just use parchment paper. Lay out the bacon strips side-by-side on the wire rack so that there’s no overlap.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until you reach your desired crispiness. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Now, let’s toast the pepitas. Place a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Do not add oil.
Add your pepitas to the skillet, being sure to only add enough so that there’s a single layer of pepitas in the pan. You may need to work in batches, depending on the size of your skillet.
Cook for 5 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to move the pepitas around. The pepitas will begin to puff and pop. Don’t be scared. That’s them doing their thing.
Remove from heat and season with salt. Let cool.
Your bacon should now be cooled. Chop your bacon into small pieces.
In a large bowl, combine your shaved brussels sprouts, kale, bacon pieces, dried cherries, cheese, and cooled pepitas. Set aside while we make the salad dressing.
For the shallot vinaigrette, you can either combine everything in a mason jar and shake, or mix in a bowl with a whisk. Your choice!
Combine the minced shallot, grated garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, mustard, maple syrup and olive oil with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Shake or whisk until combined. Taste and adjust — sometimes I add more lemon or it’ll need more salt or a bit more mustard. Tasting is essential!
Five minutes before serving, dress the salad with your shallot vinaigrette. I find that kale and Brussels sprouts are pretty hardy and can withstand sitting in the dressing for longer than a leafy green.
Season again with salt and pepper, and serve!
In other good news — I’m working on a gift guide for all your foodie friends and family. It’ll include all my favorite kitchen and pantry essentials, but I also want your input. Go to my instagram (@maddieumali) and on my story, you’ll be able to submit your favorite cooking must-haves. Who knows — maybe they’ll end up on the gift guide!
For what’s been giving me life, it was going home to St. Louis for Thanksgiving— and bringing Charlie with us! It means the world to me to spend the holidays with my family, and we got to do all the best St. Louis things. We got Ted Drewes, went to the City Museum, downed some beers at 4 Hands, ate pancakes at Chris’ Pancakes, and ate lots of STL-style pizza.
We were traveling all over the place this Fall, and for that, I’m so thankful. We celebrated my bestie Caroline and I’s birthdays in sunny Naples and then jetted across the country to cheer on our friends Katie and Daniel as they said ‘I do’ in Palm Springs, California.
What else is giving me life? Our Denver book club. Last month, we read The Wedding People by Alison Espach. This month, we’re reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. It’s watching Drops of God and Shrinking on Apple TV, Nobody Wants This on Netflix, and Chimp Crazy on MAX. It’s the Wild Things exhibit at the Denver Art Museum.
I’m so happy to be writing again, and can’t wait to send you all my gift guide. More to come!
