Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and today I’m sharing my final new Thanksgiving recipe before the holiday: my favorite autumnal brussels sprout salad! Most brussels sprout salad recipes have you throw in either raw or roasted sprouts, but this has the best of both worlds—bright green crunchy shavings that you set aside before roasting, as well as caramelized crispy bits. Plus it’s got all your favorite fall produce, with sweet potatoes, pomegranate seeds, and fennel, and a wonderfully crisp honey mustard apple cider vinaigrette.
A few quick notes before I get to the recipe: If you’re gluten free, feel free to substitute your favorite gluten free grain in place of the barley (if you choose quinoa, be careful not to overcook it, and only use about 3/4 cup). If you’re okay with gluten, but don’t really like barley, farro would work wonderfully here, or really any chewy whole grain you love. Oh and if you’re in a big hurry, remember that you can totally prep all of the thinly sliced/shaved ingredients in a food processor fitted with the slicer attachment. If you decide to slice by hand, don’t miss my tutorial to learn how to do it efficiently and safely—this is a perfect opportunity to practice your knife skills if you’ve been meaning to brush up.
And don’t forget the best thing about this recipe (I mean, next to its deliciousness!): it can be prepped the day before Thanksgiving and completely forgotten right until you serve it! I’ve included instructions below the recipe with a few little adjustments to make sure it looks and tastes absolutely perfect the next day.
fall brussels sprout salad
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
1 cup pearled barley (185g)
1/2 of 1 onion, thinly sliced (80g)
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (300g)
8 cups shaved brussels sprouts (450g), divided in half
Salt, to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (55g), plus more for coating veggies
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (75g)
1 tablespoon mustard (15g)
2 tablespoons honey (45g)
1 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed through a press (10g)
1 medium bulb fennel, thinly sliced (125g)
1 cup pomegranate seeds (135g)
Instructions
- Simmer the barley for about 45 minutes in at least 3 cups of salted water, covered. Once it’s done, rinse with cool water for a few seconds to bring it to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Place the onion, sweet potatoes, and half of the brussels sprouts on a sheet pan, and evenly coat with about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon).
- Roast the veggies for about 20 minutes, until they’re caramelized and softened (mix them up halfway through). Once the veggies come out of the oven, let them cool down to room temperature for a few minutes while you make the rest of the salad.
- Whisk together the 1/4 cup olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard, honey, sage, black pepper, garlic, and salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon).
- Place the raw half of the brussels sprouts in a salad bowl, followed by the raw fennel, the cooled barley, the cooled roasted veggies, and most of the pomegranate arils. Drizzle with the dressing, toss together, and top with the rest of the pomegranate arils.
Notes
To make ahead: This can be made for company about a day ahead of time (it actually gets better after the first 12 hours). Just wait until the last minute to plate it and top it with the last handful of pomegranate arils. And enjoy the leftovers for days!
Hi, if I left out the dried sage, would it change the flavor drastically? Are there other substitutes? Thanks in advance! 🙂
Hi there! Feel free to use dried thyme instead—add it to taste, and give it a few minutes to steep in the dressing before tasting.
I love your recipes, Kathryn. Can you give me some pointers as to where I can find fennel bulb and pomegranate in Hong Kong (on the Kowloon side)? It doesn’t seem like Taste (the supermarket closest to me) has it.
Ooh that’s a great question! And I’m so sorry I’m answering it so late!!
Ok so apologies if my memory doesn’t serve me correctly, but I believe I could usually find pomegranates at the Mong Kok outdoor market, especially in the fall and winter when they’re in season. If I remember correctly, you can also usually find them at corner fruit markets all over the place, but it’s a bit hit or miss (especially seasonally).
Fennel is a bit trickier though. But I do remember this one stall at the mong kok market that occasionally had fennel bulb. It’s definitely easier to find on the island more than in kowloon. Simon’s stall at the Sai Ying Pun wet market almost always has fennel, as do most of the other stalls there (and some of the surrounding stand-alone shops nearby the market).
Oh and Marks & Spencer if all else fails! But they’re way overpriced, so I’d only shop there if it’s a total last resort (or you’ve got $$ to burn haha)
Eek, I hope that helps! Good luck and hope you find all the ingredients you need! I kept meaning to write a post about shopping for middle eastern/mediterranean ingredients in HK while I was living there, but just never got around to it. But feel free to message or email if you’ve got more questions! I’m usually slightly better about responding to messages than comments (though regrettably, not thaaaaat much better or faster hahaha)