Roasted Brussel sprout salad ロースト芽キャベツのサラダ

When I lived in Japan, I never noticed Brussel sprout or Brussels Sprout being sold at the market but obviously these are available in Japan now. My understanding of Brussel sprouts is that they are the side buds of a certain cultivar of wild cabbage. (If this vegetable is named after the capital of Belgium, this should be called "Brussels sprout", but the vast majority of cookbooks and grocery stores in the U.S. list it as "Brussel sprout"). My first encounter with this vegetable was at a Christmas dinner after I came to the U.S. My wife has cooked Brussel sprouts in several different ways and, (even) I tried a few recipes but none was satisfactory. So it remained a must-have-for-Christmas-dinner-but-nobody-ate-it side dish. That was until my wife decided to roast them until the surface blackens.  This is absolutely the best way to cook and enjoy Brussel sprouts and now we make this regularly with other roasted vegetables such as greenbeans, carrot, onions, and cauliflower. The roasted Brussel sprout, when it first comes out from the oven, has a nice blackened and crispy outer layer with sweet creamy inside.

I even use leftover roasted Brussels sprouts in our sandwiches  (sliced, of course). One day, we found only a few leftover roasted Brussel sprouts in the fridge. By my wife's suggestion, I made them into a small salad.

For 4 small servings such as the one shown above; roasted Brussel sprout (6 halved or quartered depending on its size), apple (one Honey crisp or other sweet and sour crisp apple, skinned and cut into small chunks), Campari tomato (4, skin removed and quartered), cucumber (one minicucu, soft center removed and cut into small chunks).

Dressing: I mixed store bought mayonaise (1 tbs), plain yogurt (1 tbs), Dijon mustard with horse raddish (2 tsp), salt and black pepper.

I served this on the bed of baby spinach. This was a good starter dish. Brussel sprouts and apple go very well together. The contrast between the crisp apple and soft and sweet Brussel sprout was supported by tangy but creamy dressing.