Go Back
Brussels sprout Caesar salad on a white plate

Brussels Sprout Caesar Salad

Roasted Brussels sprouts tossed in a from-scratch roasted garlic Caesar dressing with sourdough croutons and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, the side dish that outshone the main at a late July private dinner in Newport.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 285
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Roasted Garlic Dressing
  • 1 head garlic
  • 1 tbsp olive oil (for roasting garlic)
  • 8 anchovy fillets
  • 1 egg yolk (pasteurized if preferred)
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
Brussels Sprouts
  • 8 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 tsp lemon juice
  • pinch sea salt
  • shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, for garnish
  • microgreens, for garnish
Sourdough Croutons
  • 4 slices artisanal sourdough bread, cut into small cubes
  • 4 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • pinch flaky sea salt

Equipment

  • Vitamix 5200 Blender for emulsifying the roasted garlic dressing
  • Cutco 1738 Gourmet Prep Knife for halving sprouts and cubing sourdough
  • Microplane Zester Grater for parmesan and lemon zest finish

Method
 

Roasted Garlic Dressing
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Slice the top off the head of garlic to expose the cloves. Drizzle with olive oil, wrap tightly in foil, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes until the cloves are caramelized, soft, and golden all the way through.
    2. Start with Garlic: Put the garlic in the oven before anything else. It takes 40 minutes and everything else in this recipe builds around it.
  2. Squeeze the roasted cloves out of the skin directly into a blender. Add the anchovy fillets, egg yolk, dijon mustard, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Blend until completely smooth.
  3. With the blender running, stream in the extra virgin olive oil slowly and steadily until the dressing emulsifies and comes together.
    4. Stream the Oil Slowly: The emulsification only works if the olive oil goes in gradually while the blender is running. Add it all at once and the dressing breaks.
  4. Stir in the finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano by hand. Season with salt and cracked black pepper. Taste and adjust. Set aside.
Sourdough Croutons
  1. Toss the sourdough cubes with olive oil, minced garlic, and flaky sea salt in a bowl until evenly coated. Spread in a single layer on a sheet pan.
    2. Single Layer Only: Crowded croutons steam each other instead of crisping. Use the whole sheet pan and give them room.
  2. Toast in the oven at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown and just firm. Pull them at the 8-minute mark to check. They go from golden to burnt quickly. Let cool slightly before using.
Brussels Sprouts
  1. Toss the halved Brussels sprouts with olive oil and sea salt. Spread cut side down in a single layer on a sheet pan. Use two pans if needed to avoid crowding.
  2. Roast at 400°F for 15 to 18 minutes until the edges are golden and the cut sides have some char. The flat surface against the pan is where all the color happens.
  3. As soon as the sprouts come out of the oven, drizzle with lemon juice while they're still hot.
    4. Lemon While Hot: Adding lemon juice to the sprouts right out of the oven lets the acid absorb into the surface while they're still open and porous, instead of just sitting on top.
To Assemble
  1. Toss the warm Brussels sprouts with a few generous spoonfuls of the roasted garlic dressing in a bowl until lightly coated. Not drenched, just enough dressing to coat every sprout.
  2. Arrange on a shallow plate. Scatter the sourdough croutons across the top.
  3. Garnish with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano and a small handful of microgreens. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of fresh lemon zest.

Notes

Plating: Shallow wide plate, warm from the oven so the sprouts don't flatten. Sprouts spread in a loose single layer, cut-side up where possible, about a third of the plate uncovered at the edges. Croutons scattered on top, not folded in, five to seven per plate. Anchovy dressing spooned in a zigzag across the sprouts, not drowned. Parmesan grated fine directly over the plate at the pass, a heavy dusting that covers the top like snow. Lemon zest across the top, one pass of the Microplane.
Wine: Vermentino or a crisp white Burgundy. Something with enough acidity to stand up to the richness of the Caesar dressing without fighting the lemon. If you're pouring red, go for a lighter Grenache. Anything too heavy will flatten the dish.
Prep ahead: The roasted garlic dressing can be made up to three days ahead and kept in the fridge. The croutons can be made the day before and stored at room temperature in an open container. Roast the Brussels sprouts fresh, they don't reheat well and they're fast enough that there's no reason to do them in advance.
Scaling for service: To 8: double cleanly, roast sprouts on one sheet pan spread in a single layer. To 12: triple the dressing, roast sprouts on two sheet pans rotated halfway through. Crowding pans is the fastest way to ruin this dish, sprouts steam grey instead of charring. Toss dressing through warm sprouts no more than 3 minutes before plating. Parmesan shaved to order at the pass, the wisps go soft in the bowl within 5 minutes.
Dietary swaps: GF as written if you skip the croutons or sub GF sourdough cubes (Canyon Bakehouse works). To make it DF: sub cashew cream plus a teaspoon of miso for the parmesan in the dressing, and skip the shaved parm at the pass. The dressing loses some depth, the anchovy and lemon carry it. For anchovy-free or vegetarian: skip the anchovies and add a teaspoon of Worcestershire (confirm vegetarian, most Worcestershire has anchovy). Nut-free as written (check your croutons).