A Cool Summer Salad

The warm weather is here and summer is quickly upon us.  With this, it means eating foods that a lot lighter.  We tend to eat a lot of salads in the summer, as I am sure quite a few people do.  Here is one of our favorite summer salads that is fun and different.  It is guaranteed  to help cool things down when the temperature starts to rise.

I was first introduced to this salad when I went to lunch with a friend of mine a couple of years ago in South East Denver.  They had it on the menu and we both ordered it and raved about it after wards.  So I came home and made it myself.  We have been enjoying it ever since.   It is a Brussels sprout salad with an herbed honey-mustard dressing.  It is refreshingly different and very healthy too, filled with all kinds of flavors and textures.  You can serve it as a main salad by adding chicken or steak, or your protein of choice, or you can serve it as a side salad, and just eat it as is.  You can also make it vegetarian, just skip the bacon.

All the fixin’s for the salad.

Making the dressing.

Brussel Sprout Salad with Herbed Honey-Mustard Dressing

Raw Brussel sprouts, sliced, cut off the ends

red onions, sliced very thin

green onions, sliced thin

apples, small dice.  I used Gala apples, but you can use whatever type you like

Toasted almonds slivers

cooked bacon, crumbled

Bleu cheese crumbles (optional)

Craisins (optional)

Toss everything together and then toss in the herbed honey-mustard dressing and chill.  My husband likes the bleu cheese crumbles and I don’t; I like the craisins and he doesn’t. So we just add those separately and we both have a salad we love.

 

Herbed Honey-Mustard Dressing

1 heaping TBSP Dijon Mustard

1 Heaping TBSP whole grain mustard

1/3 cup white wine vinegar

1/3-1/2 cup olive oil

2 heaping TBSP honey

black pepper to taste

tarragon to taste

1 tsp each of fresh parsley, thyme, marjoram and oregano.

 

Whisk all the ingredients together and pour as much as you need over the salad.  Toss everything together well and chill.