Thanksgiving Kale Brussels Sprout Salad
I’m about to rant about my Thanksgiving memories. If you don’t care about that but just want the recipe, scroll to the last paragraph of the rant where you can read a little bit about the recipe and view it below.
I’m a Thanksgiving girl. That’s my holiday. Christmas is amazing (don’t get me wrong), Halloween isn’t really my thing, Fourth of July is fun… but, Thanksgiving tops them all. I think this is because I have the best family memories of Thanksgiving and it’s a holiday where everyone gathers in the kitchen cooking, chatting, and sipping cocktails - what’s not to love?! I can’t quite remember the holiday when I was young (to my defense, it’s a holiday based around food and football - and family and thankfulness, of course - but neither of which I was interested in a kid). Starting in college my family and I would drive to Atlanta to visit my aunt, uncle and little cousins. After a few years of doing that, they started to come to my home town of Charlotte to celebrate. Some years, even more extended family would join us to make a HUGE gathering. It was a big party, and I loved it.
Before I talk about Thanksgiving Day I have to give credit to my mom for the “pre-prep work” of Thanksgiving. She spent the week leading up to Thanksgiving Day making breakfast casseroles, Pumpkin Pie, Salted Carmel Pecan Pie and dishes like Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, and Spiced Pecans for the biggest Pear Gorgonzola Salad you’ve ever seen. Not just that, but she decorated the house with turkeys and pumpkins and pottery, fall flowers and branches and acorns…. she washed sheets, scrubbed bathrooms… basically transformed the house into a “autumn-themed bed and breakfast”. Her attention to the details - of every holiday, really - is what makes them so special.
Thanksgiving Day. My family (all of us, really) love a good competition (to show off a little) and most of us are fairly “into” fitness, so no matter where we were or who was with us, we started out the day with a Turkey Trot. In the early days, my cousins rode in strollers but over the years they joined us… now they’re teenagers! The trot was followed by a filling breakfast (usually some sort of breakfast casserole and build-your-own yogurt parfaits), and then the prep work began. The day-long marathon of chopping, roasting, simmering, smoking, frying, wiping and swiping, washing and drying. There were always too many cooks in the kitchen. It was crammed, loud, frustrating at times…. but perfect.
My Dad was always in charge of the turkeys, readying them for smoking and frying (while my Aunt Paige cringed at the sight of raw turkey in the kitchen sink, ready to bleach every surface in sight!). I can just see him in his navy and white striped apron, brow furrowed, fighting for space in the crowded kitchen, trying to head outdoors as fast as he could to avoid the madness. He stayed outside all day frying turkeys for friends and neighbors - what a fantastic way to live out the Thanksgiving spirit, right? Thank you, Dad.
My mom orchestrated the chaos and delegated tasks but also busied herself making appetizers like Cranberry Pear Salsa and assembling fancy charcuterie boards. My uncle Craig chopped veggies for Roasted Root Vegetables and Stewed Okra and Tomatoes. He prepped Sausage and Chestnut Stuffing and joined my dad in the important task of topping off everyone’s champagne glasses (thank you!). My older sister wrangled my younger cousins with hiking and biking adventures, card games, making smores, and creating “kid mocktails” in fancy glasses.
As for me, I was a part of the kitchen madness. I have very vivid memories of my Aunt Paige and I hovering around a little corner of the counter space allotted to us with our cutting boards and pairing knives tediously cutting thin slices of brussels sprouts for THIS salad. We weren’t in a rush, we just taaaaaalked and chopped, taaaaaalked and chopped (with her perfectly glossy, manicured nails - always some shade of red). If you’re in the mood to talk, Aunt Paige is your gal. She’s always so genuinely intrigued with what you have to say… she might chop two sprouts in 10 minutes, but that’s because she listening to you with all her might and ready to chime in with sincere advice, opinions, thoughts, laughter…. she makes you feel like what you’re saying is the most important thing she’s heard all day (thank you, Aunt Paige!).
After the prep was done, we dressed in our Thanksgiving finest, hung out on the patio (sneaking inside at times to snag bites of the resting, fried birds - that crispy skin…mmmmm….) eating appetizers, drinking cocktails, watching football, playing in the fire pit, and then headed inside for our Thanksgiving Feast - complete with all the dishes I listed above. We lingered at the table, considering seconds or thirds, we brewed Pumpkin Coffee while doing the dishes and then sat on the couch in our PJs and devoured those pies while watching football or a movie. Perfection. These dishes and these memories are top on my list and they’ll be a part of what Thanksgiving will be for my growing family.
Thank you, everyone, for staying with me while I rambled about Thanksgiving. Now, this salad…
Thanksgiving Kale Brussels Sprout Salad is one of my favorite dishes on our spread. It’s a perfect balance to some of the richer dishes. The best thing is, it gets better with time. The longer it sits in the fridge, the softer and more tender it gets. Sometimes Friday lunch after Thanksgiving is this salad topped with leftover smoked turkey, roasted root veggies and a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds. You absolutely don’t have to save this salad for Thanksgiving Day. I find it’s a perfect dish to bring to a fall or winter pot luck… a good fit for a crowd. I’ve used various toppings… bacon, pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries, roasted sweet potatoes and I’ve also been known to double the dressing. In fact, I made it this week and the memories came flooding back - I love when food does that (hints the reminiscing post).
Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy!
Thanksgiving Kale and Brussles Sprout Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces chopped kale (I use half a large,16 ounce bag of pre-chopped kale)
- 1 pound brussels sprouts, finely shredded
- 1/2 cup roasted almonds, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup pecorino, grated
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 medium shallot, minced (about 2 Tablespoons)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- If using chopped, bagged kale, chop it even more. You want fine, bite sized pieces.
- Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
- Combine the dressing ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until they are combined and the dressing is thick and creamy.
- Add the dressing to the salad ingredients, tossing to coat.
- Allow to rest for 15-20 minutes before serving. The longer it sits, the better it gets (even days later!).
Notes
This salad is delicious as written. We've also added toppings like chopped bacon, pomegranate seeds, roasted sweet potatoes, and dried cranberries. They're all delicious!
If you're more of a "heavy-handed" salad dressing person, double the dressing recipe.
Store leftovers in the fridge for 3-5 days. The longer it sits, the softer and more flavorful it gets.