It’s a festive kale + brussels sprout salad just in time for the holidays!

Or, for everyday.

I’ve definitely been eating this every.single.day.

Kale + Brussels Sprout Fruit and Nut Salad | edibleperspective.com

The shredded kale + brussels are where it’s at. So much crunch! They’re dressed with olive oil + lemon juice and that is it!

No fancy dressing needed.

Kale + Brussels Sprout Fruit and Nut Salad | edibleperspective.com

And how about we add more texture with a thinly sliced pink lady apple? Only about 3/4 of my apple made it into the salad and the other 1/4 straight into my mouth. I love, LOVE apples.

Pink lady are my current favorite. It’s a guaranteed amazing apple time + time again. Never mealy (the worst!).

Kale + Brussels Sprout Fruit and Nut Salad | edibleperspective.com

Pistachios are so underrated in salads. Roasted + salted are the best here.

Tart dried cherries are added for chew and a sweet + sour bite.

And lastly, feta is worked into the greens so you get little bits with each bite you take.

Mmmhmm.

Kale + Brussels Sprout Fruit and Nut Salad | edibleperspective.com

This salad should keep you going for the rest of winter. It’s one of those salad recipes you just don’t get sick of. Well, I’m hoping you don’t.

Bonus! It stays fresh if you make this a day ahead and pack for work. Just leave the pistachios off until you’re ready to eat. A squeeze of lemon on the apples will prevent them from turning brown, even overnight.

So, what’s stopping you?

Nada.

Kale + Brussels Sprout Fruit and Nut Salad | edibleperspective.com

Print Recipe!

adapted from: Love & Lemons

Kale + Brussels Sprout Fruit and Nut Salad

gluten-free, vegan option // yields 4 servings or 2 meal-sized servings

1 head lacinato kale, de-stemmed
8-10 brussels sprouts
1 large crisp apple
3/4 cup tart dried cherries
3/4 cup roasted salted pistachios
2-3 ounces sheep’s milk feta
3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt + pepper to taste

Stack kale leaves on top of one another and roll in half (lengthwise) to gather them up. Slice into thin ribbons. Place in a large bowl. Shred brussels with a mandolin or slice thinly with a sharp knife. Discard stem ends. Place in the bowl.

Add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and a pinch or two of salt and pepper. Thoroughly massage into the greens. Place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes (optional but helps dressing absorb and soften the greens just slightly).

Crumble 2-3oz of feta over the greens and massage in. Taste the greens and add more lemon, olive oil, salt, and/or pepper if needed. Thinly slice the apple and rub with a squeeze of lemon juice. Add to the salad along with the pistachios and cherries.

Serve.

Store leftover in a sealed container and add more lemon/olive oil if needed the following day.

Notes: Keeps well for 1-2 days but pistachios will soften a bit. Best served for a crowd same day as it was made. To make this vegan, simply leave off the feta and add an extra pinch of salt and lemon.

Kale + Brussels Sprout Fruit and Nut Salad | edibleperspective.com

Are you up for a cookie recipe on Monday? Or are you totally over cookies? Dumb question?

Happy Friday!

Ashley

Alternative title: Adventures in renovation land with a delicious recipe at the end.

We took on a large scale yard project this weekend. Maybe a little too large? But it was something that had to get done.

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad | edibleperspective.com

Imagine a flagstone patio that is 11 feet deep by 30 feet wide (the width of our house). Then imagine that this surface slopes down a couple inches in the direction of your house and slopes up towards the yard. Then imagine a huge rain storm and where that water goes. Are you with me?

It goes through your foundation.

I would love to have a nice little discussion with the previous owners who had this shoddy patio installed. It’s unbelievable how poorly it was done.

So if you can imagine, we had to lower the side that goes into the yard so it slopes down and away from the house. This means we had to dig deep. For some unknown reason we thought it could be done with shovels.

2 hours later we rented a dingo.

12 hours later we had about 12 tons of dirt to deal with. I’m not joking.

Are you having a panic attack yet? I am.

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad | edibleperspective.com

Luckily, we have generous and amazing friends who were there to help. I wasn’t able to help much with the labor because at this point it was a 3-person job. So then my goal became: keep these boys fed, make sure they have beer, make Home Depot runs, and post ads on Craigslist hoping people would come pick up the dirt.

We were able to offload about 1/2 of the dirt. Craigslist is an amazing thing. And now we’re using a service called Bagster to help haul the rest away. Oh, how I wish Bagster was sponsoring this post.Kidding. Maybe.

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad | edibleperspective.com

The boys worked past sunset after I purchased a few flood lights. They finally finished excavating around 10pm on Saturday. Sunday started bright + early filling the patio area with structural backfill [basically broken concrete] and then tamping it down with a gas powered tamper that shook the whole house.

Oh, did I forget to mention when we thought we smashed the clay sewer line?

Panic attack #2.

Luckily, it was just broken pieces of old clay pipe.

And then the sprinkler electrical line was accidentally cut through with a shovel. It had 14 electrical lines running through it. Chris got that fixed and then it was time to start leveling. Even with 2 civil engineers, a landscape architect, and a mathematician it was an undertaking.

By the end of Sunday a few of the flagstone pieces were set into place, but it’s an extremely tedious process. Thankfully, Chris numbered each stone with chalk and took a ton of photos so we could place each one back in the correct spot.

Now, the end of the patio sits a good 6 inches below the top of the ground. And this is where project #2 comes in. The water can’t just pool at the end of the patio below the ground line. We now have to dig out a 30 foot long by 5 feet wide by 8 inch deep area for the water to drain.

Did I mention the [mostly dead] tree that has to be cut down?

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad | edibleperspective.com

I think I’ll stop there. It’s Monday and this just got a little too intense.

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad | edibleperspective.com

But if you live in Denver and know of a good landscaping company, please let me know!

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad | edibleperspective.com

And now, we eat.

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad | edibleperspective.com

Print this!

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad

gluten-free, vegan // yields 3-4 large servings, or 6-8 side-dish servings

cauliflower + chickpeas:

1 large head cauliflower
2 1/2 cups chickpeas, rinsed + drained
1 1/2 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil
3 tablespoons thinly sliced shallot
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3/4 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes, not oil packed
1/3 cup sliced kalamata olives
5oz mixed baby greens
fresh thyme or oregano

dressing:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons cashew butter, or almond butter
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
salt + pepper

Preheat your oven to 400° F.

Chop cauliflower into 1-2 bite pieces and place on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast for about 30 minutes, turning once halfway through, until tender and starting to brown.

At the same time, place chickpeas on another large baking sheet and toss with 1/2 teaspoons oil, salt, and pepper. Roast chickpeas for about 20-25 minutes, turning once halfway through. They should be starting to split open and crisp a bit. Turn oven down to 350° F. Add the garlic and shallot and toss together with another drizzle of oil. Roast until the garlic and shallot are just starting to turn golden brown, about 6-8 minutes. Stir a few times and watch closely so it doesn’t burn. Add the olives and sun-dried tomatoes in the last 2-3 minutes to warm.

While roasting, place all dressing ingredients with about 1/4 teaspoon salt + pepper in a jar or sealable container and shake until fully combined. Set aside and shake before pouring. Store excess sealed in the fridge.

Remove both pans from the oven and toss together on one pan. Toss with desired amount of dressing. Taste, and add more salt + pepper if needed. Place mixed greens on a large platter and top with roasted salad. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and fresh thyme. Serve extra dressing on the side.

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad | edibleperspective.com

Thanks for listening to my weekend yard rant. If you like landscaping and live in Denver we have extra shovels.

Ashley