Love and Olive Oil

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Pan-Fried Goat Cheese and Pomegranate

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Pan-Fried Goat Cheese

Fried goat cheese.

You don’t have to say much more to get me excited.

Honestly? You could put fried goat cheese on an anchovy sandwich and I’d devour it (er, actually, that sounds kind of good…)

See? I told you.

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Pan-Fried Goat Cheese

This salad features raw Brussels sprouts, which, in all honesty, aren’t something I would eat normally. Cooked Brussels I can do and love, but raw they tend to take on a kind of cabbage-like bitterness that is somewhat off-putting. Similar to kale, as much as raw kale salads are all the rage right now, I do my best to avoid them.

But this salad brings together a brilliant combination of sweet pomegranate seeds and warm, fried goat cheese that, together, cancel out any notes of Brussels bitterness that might still linger. Not to mention it’s downright gorgeous, which might be what drew me in when I first saw it on Pinterest (that and, well, the fried goat cheese).

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Pan-Fried Goat Cheese

We added a bit of honey to the dressing, and I think it could do with double the amount of goat cheese (because having a bit with every bite is absolutely necessary), but if you’re looking for a way to tolerate, and even come to love raw Brussels sprouts, this is darn near perfect.

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Pan-Fried Goat Cheese

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Ingredients:

1 pound Brussels Sprouts, ends trimmed and outer leaves removed
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (from 1/2 of a large pomegranate)

For Dressing:
1 shallot, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For Goat Cheese:
1 (8 ounce) log goat cheese, cold
1 large egg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil, for frying

Directions:

Slice the Brussels sprouts very thinly using a sharp knife or mandoline. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

To prepare the dressing, whisk together shallots, mustard, vinegar, and honey in a small bowl. Drizzle in olive oil, whisking vigorously until incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg until frothy. Place the flour in a small, shallow dish. Mix together the panko, parsley, and salt in a another small, shallow dish.

Carefully slice the goat cheese into 8 even discs. Lightly coat each slice in flour, tapping to remove any excess. Dip in egg, followed by breadcrumb mixture, gently rolling until disc is evenly coated.

Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick pan set over medium-high heat. Gently place the goat cheese rounds in the pan and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.

Gently toss the shredded Brussels sprouts with the dressing. Transfer to a serving platter or individual serving plates. Arrange warm goat cheese rounds on top; sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Recipe adapted from Heather Christo.

All images and text © / Love & Olive Oil

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45 Comments

  1. I love this salad and I have made it the last few Christmas’ since finding the recipe. Even without the goat cheese it’s delicious.  We spent Christmas with my parents &my Dad, who doesn’t like Brussels Sprouts, had 2 helpings. TY for a fav family tradition! 

  2. This is far and away my favorite quick salad for an infusion of veg.  I love it during any season.

  3. I love quick pan-braised brussel sprouts myself, maybe I wouldn’t mind going raw… Also, I do believe that Alice Water at Chez Panisse made fried goat cheese in bread crumbs over salad famous :) NOT over a brussel sprout salad, mind you – that sounds even tastier than a plain ol’ salad.

    Great photographs :)

  4. Everything about this sounds amazing – and any way for me to eat more brussels sprouts is fine with me! Especially when theres cheese involved

  5. I have to agree… Ill eat anything with fried goat cheese on it. I mean…. how could it be anything but AMAZING?

  6. Lindsay,

    I couldn’t agree with your aversion to raw brussel sprouts more (I think it was ingrained in me as child that they are awful), however if this recipe changed your mind I’m going to have to give it a try. You’re right the fried goat cheese helps! After all, I am now one of those raw-kale loving people (hint lemon vinaigrette and parmesan).

    – Jessica

  7. Pan-friend goat cheese? YES PLEASE. This looks so healthy, delicious and filling.

  8. fried goat cheese sounds AMAZING, but the mix with pomegranate must be absolutely fabulous!! thanks for the recipe!!!

  9. love how fresh this salad looks…even with the fried goat cheese :-0

  10. You had me at fried goat cheese! Holy yum, this looks incredible. I love the flavors of pomegranate and goat cheese together.

  11. Can’t wait to try this recipe! Goat cheese is probably my favorite food ever, and fried?! Doesn’t get any better than that!
    It was lovely meeting you at FBS this weekend- you had some great advice during the discussion. Not to mention, your photography is gorgeous!
    Thanks for the inspiration for a new food blogger like myself!!

  12. As much as I love Brussels sprouts, I would be all over that fried goat cheese and call it a day.

  13. The beautiful color of the pomegranates make this look really really appealing, and duh…anything with goat cheese just HAS to taste good! I love Brussels sprouts but I never really eat them raw…and definitely never had them shaved so thin they look like lettuce. This is so creative!

  14. Fried goat cheese + pomegranates + brussels sprouts sounds like a match made in heaven to me! Can’t wait to try!

  15. Did you find the dressing worked well with the bitter brussel sprouts, or do you wish that you had something else to go along with it? I love the pomegranates! They definitely make this dish pop!

    • We added the honey which I thought worked quite well. It’s a lightly dressed salad, but that’s how I tend to like them.

  16. I made this last night, it was so delicious! I did change a couple of things: I didn’t have pomegranate seeds, so subbed in blueberries. Also, used bleu-goat cheese featured at Trader Joe’s this month. It was a little crumbly, but managed to form into patties. Another thing, I did blanche the sprouts as one poster suggested, and then chilled. I have a pic, but don’t know how to upload here. Thanks for the great post!
    P.S. I also used Agave instead of honey in the dressing, dee-lish!!

  17. You had me at fried goat cheese!

  18. Made this tonight to go with salmon – it was crazy good!

  19. seeing fried goat cheese was worth getting up for this morning!

    the only thing I might change is to add a little sage along with the parsley – together these two seasonings are just heavenly to me!

  20. Fried goat cheese rules my life right now! I had it on a salad a few months ago and I still dream about it! Now that I have a recipe for it I am doomed!

  21. Fried goat cheese! I just made some myself expect my was coasted in buffalo sauce! So good! you pictures look so good!

  22. This looks delicious. I had a salad with fried goat cheese at French bistro and have been dying to recreate it at home. Will definitely be giving this a try!

  23. I would love some fried goat cheese right now. Beautiful salad, Lindsay!

  24. Wow, I would eat this right now because it looks just so darn pretty. I have to try this. xxx

  25. Love it! I like to roast sprouts with lemon and olive oil. It evens out that cabbage taste. A little cumin and salt and pepper rounds out the flavor. The fried cheese is something I will have to try this weekend!

  26. I was going to roast brussel sprouts for dinner, but now I’m making this! This just looks amazing. I even have the right goat cheese. I’ll let you know how it goes!

    • I really wish I knew how delicious thinly sliced brussel sprouts were before today! SO delicious! And the fried goat cheese was perfect too. I didn’t have a pomegranate but I added thinly sliced prosciutto and sunflower seeds. It all went perfectly together. Husband and I have already decided we’re eating it again tomorrow lol.

  27. I seriously think you had me at fried goat cheese.

  28. This salad is so fabulous. I love those goat cheese medallions!

  29. Salad looks delicious! Love the fried goat cheese. I would blanch the brussels sprouts for 1 minute to bring out the bright green color and reduce the bitter taste.

  30. I love the idea of using brussel sprouts as the greens in this salad. And pom seeds are always a nice surprise, and great for colour too. Thanks for posting!

  31. I haven’t tried making a salad with Brussels sprouts but it sounds tasty. I love the combo of using goat cheese, pom seeds & the sprouts! Beautiful photos too.

  32. This salad looks so wonderful. I can’ seem to find any good looking brussels sprouts in my market lately, though, which is quite disappointing. I suppose I could make something similar with shaved green cabbage – it will have to suffice!

  33. mmm. im crazy about fried goat cheese make salads with it quite often. like your version alot will try. xx. gigi

  34. One of the things I was going to make in Dec pre-holidays was fried cheese. Then, that got trumped for cookies. But now, I want to do it! I made some goat cheese pizza this week and your salad looks fab.

    BTW I got your book in the mail. No.words. I stayed up til almost 4am reading it, line by line, word for word. Not kidding! Congrats on an amazing book!!!!!!!

  35. Looks delicious! And the colours a amazing!

    Nices regards!

  36. This sounds so good!

    xo Jennifer

  37. I love the colors happening in this salad, so pretty!

  38. Wow… I could forget about the brussels and just eat those fried goat cheese patties alone! Those look like my dream come true!

  39. This looks absolutely delicious, and the colors are just beautiful.
    I’m wondering whether you’ve tried this dish with other kinds of cheese — (I’m allergic to goat cheese) — maybe haloumi? I’m curious to know what you think!

  40. oh my gosh, looks amazing! Just give me the fried goat cheese and I’m a happy girl!

  41. Salads with fried goat cheese are my FAVE! Never thought about using brussels sprouts though, sounds interesting!

  42. You had me at fried and goat cheese. Seriously so beautiful!!

  43. Yum! I love Goat Cheese!

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