About the Recipe
By Denice Hynd RD, MPH
Recipe and Image by Brianda Younggren, MPH 11/2022
November is here and that means it's warm-salad season! Huh? What does that even mean? I know what you're thinking...warm lettuces? No! Well, yes, but think of the salad base as warm, wilted, or roasted greens. You can make a salad base out of anything! Sautéed green beans, roasted broccoli, wilted romaine, stir-fried carrots and even shaven brussels sprouts.
The recipe mentioned below is adapted from Justine-Snacks, a recipe developer with a strong online community. Justine uses a handful of clean ingredients to transform pantry staples into a seasonal dish no one can resist! Of course, here at PSCNN we strive to make things our own, so we're adding a few elements to bump-up the nutrition.
To this salad, you can consider adding roasted chunks of sweet potato, roasted carrots sliced on a bias, or slivered and toasted almonds for added crunch.
Why do we love this recipe and its add-ons?
Thanks to the chickpeas and Brussels sprouts this salad is loaded with fiber which helps us stay regular, the anchovies offer a serving of calcium and sodium to keep our bones strong, plus the deep pigmented orange add-ons such as the roasted carrots and roasted sweet potato offer us beta-carotene and lycopene which are high in Vitamin A. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that promotes good vision, and boosts immunity.
The best part? You can make the entire dish in less than 20 minutes! Consider short cuts such as shaved Brussels sprouts that are ready to eat, canned chickpeas, or they even sell pre-roasted chickpeas at health food stores such as Trader Joes, Sprouts and Whole Foods.
Ingredients
4 cups shaved Brussels Sprouts (or sliced thin)
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 can drained chickpeas (or 2 cups pre-roasted)
1 -2 lemons juice
½ cup tahini
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Dark pigmented add-ons: roasted carrots, roasted sweet potato, roasted beets
Preparation
Drizzle 3 - 4 tablespoons of olive oil over shaved/sliced Brussels sprouts, spread onto a cookie-sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place into the oven at 375 F for 8 - 12 minutes until browned to your liking.
In a food processor, add 1 can drained chickpeas, process until the chickpeas resemble coarse pebbles (or add your pre-roasted chickpeas to the salad bowl)
Once the Brussels are done roasting, remove from cookie sheet, add chickpeas, drizzle chickpeas with olive oil, salt, pepper and roast at 400F for 5 - 8 minutes until crispy.
Add Brussels and chickpeas to a large salad bowl
Prepare dressing: in the same food processor, add 2 cloves of garlic, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 can drained anchovies, blend well. Add the ½ cup tahini, blend again. If the dressing is too thick for your liking, add the juice of the other lemon.
Toss the dressing over the Brussels and chickpeas
Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, toasted almonds, or any other high fiber veggie
Hints:
Feta cheese would be a great substitute for Parmesan cheese.
If anchovies aren't your thing, try them anyway! If they still aren't your thing, sub the anchovies with
1 -2 tablespoons Worstershire sauce or 1 - 2 teaspoons low - sodium soy sauce!