Time seems to be flying by down here in Florida, and while looking at my calendar over the weekend I realized that Saint Patrick’s Day is this Sunday! I don’t always celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day with a whole lot of commotion- probably because I’m not Irish- but as a food blogger I love holidays because I get to experiment with new recipes. Last year I celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day via blog by posting “green inspired” recipes, like my Pea and Mint Brushetta, Zucchini Avocado?! Muffins, and Edamame Hummus. This year, I thought I would do a 180 and celebrate by highlighting a few traditional ingredients of Irish cuisine. Today I’ll start with cabbage.
I decided to celebrate cabbages by cooking with one of my favorites: brussels sprouts. Cabbages of all varieties are easy and enjoyable to cook with because they take on any flavor profile you can think of. You can cook traditional cabbage and corned beef for a salty, savory flavor, or you can mix sweet and savory like I have in this dish. This is a semi-cooked, lightly sauteed salad. I lightly cook the sprouts so that they absorb the flavors of the salad, but only for a second so that they stay crunchy. The mandarin oranges give the dish a sweet note while the almonds add some crunch. This salad makes a great accompaniment to traditional corned beef, and can easily be put between two slices of bread for a very flavorful corned beef sandwich. If you can’t find brussels sprouts, any green cabbage with substitute fine.
Makes: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 25 minutes
16 brussels sprouts
1/2 vidallia onion, small dice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 leek
1 small can mandarin orange, drained
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
salt and pepper to taste
- Slice the brussels sprouts by putting them on their sides. Thinly slice from the far end down to the stem, creating little concentric circles with the slices for a nice texture. Discard the stems. Rinse and clean the leeks very well, and thinly slice on a bias to create the same circle shape as the sprouts.
- Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add a drizzle of oil to the pan and cool the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes, or until the onion starts to become translucent. Add the vinegar, leek, and half of the brussels sprouts. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Put the sauteed mix into a bowl. Add the remaining sprouts, almonds, and mandarin oranges. Toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper; serve immediately.
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