Brussels sprouts have come a long way since the days of parents trying to feed boiled sprouts to their little sprouts. I remember well my parents trying to encourage me to eat those small boiled cabbages. It wasn’t until some clever cook put sprouts to flame and came out with delicious roasted Brussels sprouts a decade or so ago that their taste profile was improved.
Since then, they’ve been served in various incarnations, but never better than a Brussels sprouts salad I had on a recent trip to Louisville, Kentucky. It was served at Morning Fork, an extremely popular restaurant in the heart of the city’s NuLu neighborhood (short for New Louisville).
(READ MORE: Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad is easily adaptable)
There are a number of things that are special about this recipe. First, there are the textures to consider, which is not always the case in a salad made with a single vegetable. This is because some of the Brussels sprouts become soft and tender from roasting in the oven, while the separated outer leaves get nicely crispy. Then they are mixed with shredded raw Brussels, making a Brussels sprouts trifecta that’s surprisingly easy to make.
And then the dressing is such a great contrast to the earthy sprouts. It’s a nice blend of lemon, hot sauce, soy sauce, shallots and olive oil, along with fresh mint and parsley. Oh, and then there’s the bacon, glorious bacon.