Roasted lemon & Brussels sprouts salad wit avocado, toasted walnuts and jammy eggs – a fantastic salad, and a meal of itself, perfect for special occasions, and loved by all.
Hello friends! Hello 2019!!
I hope the New Year brings you new adventures, excitement and lots of unforgettable memories! I hope it’s more peaceful, meaningful, and overall more rewarding for all of us!
As cliche as New Year’s resolutions are (and despite the fact that most are doomed to fail somewhere around the end of January), I still like the idea of starting fresh, with a clean slate, wipe out the sticky, old thoughts, and try again – try to improve, or change, or grow, or whatever the goal may be. There is something soothing, and cleansing in forgiving yourself for the past year’s failures, and knowing that you’re given another chance to start.
Even if it’s just a mental trick. Even if we delude ourselves most of the time. There is always something exciting and motivational about a new beginning which propels us into self-improvement mode. For me, this year, the challenge happens to be yoga and meditation! (I guess I’m that age now 🙂 ) After years of flirting with the idea, and failing big time to create space and time in my schedule to fit these activities, I finally gave in. It all started with an online challenge, that popped on my screen (conveniently on Jan 1st): meditate for 30 days in a row, using a meditation app, called 10% Happier. So what do you have to lose, I thought to myself, and I clicked the Accept button, without further debate. Years ago, I read the 10% Happier book, by ABC news anchor Dan Harris, which first stirred my curiosity in meditation, and now he got me with his app! It’s an awesome book, by the way, and I can’t recommend it enough to any skeptic out there – the author’s self-deprecating humor and honesty, and his innate skepticism around anything spiritual, really makes for a great read.
So here I am, trying to meditate (or learning to), each day for 5-10 minutes, for 30 days in a row, to complete the challenge. I’ve never ever taken a challenge like this – it’s not like me. But I’m in now, and as silly as it sounds, I don’t want to quit. It actually doesn’t feel like a challenge, and I find myself wanting to meditate for more than 10 minutes per sitting (good sign maybe..?) So far, so good – I haven’t fallen off the wagon!
As for yoga, I’ve always wanted to explore that space deeper – I felt it came naturally to me (or at least 20 years ago it felt more natural). I used to be super flexible back in the day, and yoga appealed to me in that respect. But yoga, of course, is so much more than flexibility, and I’ve always been curious about, and a little mystified by it. Somehow, it took 20 years of repeating the same self delusional lie – Some day I will start, for sure! Besides the occasional yoga class here and there, I hadn’t fully committed to it, or didn’t know how to go about it. It’s always been a logistical and time constraint problem for me, as I thought finding a convenient location, and the right teacher was crucial (or so I told myself over and over). Until recently…I got a little nudge in the form of an Instagram inspiration by these amazing women – Cat Meffan, and Amanda Bisk, and the realization that Hey, I can do this on my own, with the help of a Youtube teacher, at my own house, on my own terms! Such a brilliant and liberating thought, eh!? 😉
And so I started, and I love it. I feel great, and I feel challenged. And I also feel simultaneously incredulous and annoyed at my long-lost flexibility (I still hope that it hides somewhere inside my old bones). I also developed this inexplicable desire to learn all these impossible poses, starting with, of all things – a hand stand! Where that came from, don’t ask – I just got obsessed with it, and I suspect a lot of it stems from my frustration and lack of understanding how the mechanics of the body work there… See, I think of myself as a relatively coordinated and fit person, who has a good physical intelligence, but in this case, I cannot figure it out, I cannot put my finger on it…What is it exactly that I need to do, in order to prop my legs up, and balance on my hands…Which muscles do I need to train? Where is the skill – in the strength of the arms, core, balance…? It confuses me, and it drives me nuts, and that’s a silly thing, I know, but it’s my current itch, among so many other things.
So this is my mountain, my little challenge, that still looms big on my horizon, as I’m barely scratching the surface with both of these new skills. But I can’t wait to get to the top of the hill, and see the view from above.
What about you? What’s your mountain these days?
Anyway, this was a long rambling, and a long way of saying that my mind has not been particularly focused on food these past days. Surprised? Well, it actually makes sense. January is one of the least exciting months for me to cook – after all the cooking and eating around the holidays, after all the excitement, I feel kind of deflated and drained in the creative department, not to mention the food coma, I find myself in, after months of food overdose. So forgive my short absence in this space, I promise I will be back. I know myself.
In the meantime, while I’m getting my cooking mojo back, I want to share with you this super delicious roasted lemon and Brussels sprouts salad, with toasted walnuts, avocado and egg, that I made during the holidays, and again this week. Even though it might seem more suitable for your Thanksgiving feast (which it is), than for a January cleanse, I can assure you that despite its indulgent nature, it has nothing but guilt-free ingredients, and it tastes fantastic. It’s so filling from all the fiber, protein and good fats, that you will be totally satiated from one serving. It’s one of the more laborious recipes that I’ve created, but it’s a labor of love, and trust me, when it’s all done, and eaten, you will feel totally redeemed for all your efforts. Joking aside, even though it takes about an hour to put together, you can make a few of the salad components in advance, and save some time there.
There’s so much going on in this salad but it all comes together in a harmonious way. You get the intense and fresh lemon flavor, from the roasted lemon, mingling with the rich and creamy roasted garlic dressing, the toasted walnuts, and creamy avocado – they all complement the sweet and earthy flavor of the Brussels sprouts, which are first parboiled, then roasted with some Parmesan until super soft on the inside, but crispy on the outside. Oh, and the soft-boiled quail eggs are not just a decoration – they are the perfect cherry on top, adding bursts of color, and spilling their jammy insides over the whole thing.
I suggest toasting the walnuts, and making the roasted garlic dressing ahead of time. You can even boil the eggs, and parboil the Brussels sprouts the day before. The salad is best when it’s still warm, but even after a few days in the fridge, the leftovers taste great. You can easily make it vegan by skipping the Parmesan cheese when roasting the Brussels sprouts, and leaving out the eggs.
Roasted lemon & Brussels sprouts salad wit avocado, toasted walnuts and jammy eggs – a fantastic salad, and a meal of itself, perfect for special occasions, and loved by all.
Course:
Salad
Servings: 4
Calories: 437kcal
Author: Viktoria
Ingredients
For the salad:
1lbsBrussels sprouts
2Tbsolive oil for roasting
1/4cupParmesan cheese
1lemon, sliced thinly
1avocado
1/2cupwalnuts
6quail eggs(or 2-3 regular) *
2-3Tbsroasted garlic dressing (recipe below)
salt & pepper to taste
For the roasted garlic dressing:
1/4 cupextra virgin olive oil
4heads of garlic
1fresh garlic clove
1lemon, juiced
1/2tspsalt
1/2tspblack pepper
Instructions
To make the roasted garlic dressing ** (can be made in advance):
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Cut off the pointy ends of the garlic heads, drizzle with a little olive oil, and wrap each head in baking foil. Roast for 30-35 minutes, until the garlic cloves are golden and soft. Let cool.
Squeeze the garlic cloves into a small food processor or blender. Add the juice of the lemon, a smashed fresh garlic clove, the olive oil and salt and pepper. Blend until you get a creamy sauce. Add more oil and lemon juice if the dressing is too thick. Taste and adjust the salt if needed.
To roast the walnuts (can be made in advance):
Drizzle about 1-2 tsp of water over the walnuts, sprinkle with salt, and roast at 350° F for 10-15 minutes. Check on them so they don't burn. Let cool.
To make soft-boiled quail eggs (can be made in advance):
Bring water to a boil. Lower the eggs in the water, and boil for 2 minutes and 15 seconds for a very runny yolk. Remove and plunge into an ice bath.
To make the salad:
Preheat oven to 450° F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Clean and cut the Brussels sprouts in half. Add the sprouts to the boiling water, and cook for 4-5 minutes. Drain and let them dry and cool. Drizzle with olive oil. (you can make this ahead of time and store until ready to roast).
Spread the Parmesan cheese on a plate, and dip each Brussels sprout half into the cheese, and place cut side down on a baking sheet, drizzled with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper, and more olive oil.
Roast the Brussels sprouts for 20 minutes, or until soft and crispy.
Cut the lemon into thin slices, drizzle with a little oil and arrange on a tray. Put in the oven, to roast together with the sprouts, but take out about 5 min earlier.
Mix the Brussels sprouts with a few tablespoons of the dressing, and arrange on a platter. Add the chopped avocado, the halved quail eggs, the toasted walnuts, and roasted lemon slices. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
* You can make the salad vegan by skipping the eggs, and the Parmesan. Simply roast the Brussels sprouts with olive oil and salt & pepper.
** You will end up with more dressing than needed, but it's easier to make larger quantity when using a food processor/blender. The remaining dressing can be used with other salads, and will keep well in the fridge for days.
