Italian Chopped Brussel Sprout Salad

Who doesn't love a fantastic Italian salad moment mixed with a chopped salad moment?? THE PERFECT COMBO! The delicious, easy, perfect healthy lunch and or dinner chopped Italian brussel sprout salad tossed in light Italian dressing! It’s one of my favorite types of salads, and I thought it’d be fun to make a unique version with seasonal, crunchy brussels sprouts instead of lettuce. Say hello to crunchy flavor!

Ingredients:

For the Italian dressing:

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 1-2 teaspoons sugar or honey, depending on how sweet you like your dressing

• 1 clove garlic, finely minced

• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

• ½ teaspoon salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:

• 1 pound brussels sprouts, ended trimmed and outer leaves removed

• 1 (15 ounces) can of chickpeas

• 4-6 oz thinly sliced Genoa salami, cut in half or julienned *chicken instead of salami if wanted

• 1 1/2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

• ½ cup pitted sliced kalamata or sliced black olives

• ¼ cup sliced pepperoncinis

• ½ small red onion, thinly sliced

• ½ cup cubed provolone cheese

• ¼ cup shaved or shredded parmesan

Directions:

1. Make the dressing: in a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar/honey, garlic, dijon, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

2. Next, shred the brussels sprouts by using a food processor with the slicing attachment and pulse until the brussels sprouts are thinly sliced. If you don’t have a food processor, feel free to use a sharp knife to slice thinly.

3. Add shredded brussels to a large bowl and pour the dressing all over. Next, use tongs to coat the brussels with the dressing. Let the dressing sit and marinate the brussels for 30 minutes. While the brussels marinate and soak up the dressing, you can chop and prep all your other ingredients.

4. Next, add chickpeas, salami or chicken, tomatoes, olives, pepperoncinis, red onion, provolone cheese cubes, shaved parmesan. Toss to combine. Serve immediately with extra black pepper.

Serves 4 to 6.

Google Docs: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-uTY5IYpot6PMIVPX3vDa95Yq8vWMMhC1J9J9GW2uDM/edit?usp=sharing