Layered Maple Bacon Brussels Salad

By á-174535

Say hello to fall with this beautiful layered salad, chock-full of sumptuous, healthful ingredients that taste as good as they look! Very versatile, can be served fresh and cold the same day or hot as a baked casserole the following day.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bacon, thick-sliced
• 2 cups pecans
• 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed, cut in fourths
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 4 apples, cored, cut into wedges, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 4 cups packed baby spinach
• 2 cups crumbled blue cheese, 8 ounces

Details

Servings 12
Cooking time 90mins
Adapted from bettycrocker.com

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray baking pan with sides with cooking spray.

Place bacon in single layer on pan. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until crispy, turning once. Drain on paper towel-lined plate; strain drippings into bowl, and set pan aside. Crumble bacon.

Place pecans on another baking pan. Roast 7 to 12 minutes or until fragrant and slightly browned. Cool completely on pan.

Increase oven temperature to 425°F. In large bowl, toss Brussels sprouts, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and maple syrup with 1/4 cup of the bacon drippings. Reserve remaining drippings for another use. Toss to coat and transfer to the pan used to cook the bacon. Roast 30 to 45 minutes or until sprouts brown and are tender when pierced with skewer or paring knife. Stir sprouts and cooking liquid; cool on pan, about 15 minutes.

In large bowl, toss apples thoroughly in vinegar, then drain and transfer to plate.

In 6-quart trifle bowl or glass bowl, layer as follows: Start with the sprouts, being careful to keep sides of bowl clean while filling. Top with half of the spinach, then half of the blue cheese. Add apples, then remaining spinach, pecans, remaining blue cheese and bacon.

*While this salad is great fresh, tossed on the day it's made, it's also lovely served hot the next day. Simply pour leftover salad into a casserole dish and bake at 350°F 20 to 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and sprouts are warmed through.