Brussels Sprouts with Lemon, Hazelnuts and Bacon

Oh how I love my little brussels sprout friends. So small, so round, so green! Can I confess a dirty little secret though....I have been spelling brussels sprouts as brussels sprouts...with out the extra s! Um should I have known this?!? When I say "Hey honey, we're having brussels sprouts for dinner tonight" I don't say brussels...that doesn't even sound right! And in my 32 years of  existence no one has ever corrected me. Well wait, one person might have....spell check. But every time I saw that squiggly line under the word brussels I knew that I had outsmarted spell check because there was no way I had spelled it wrong. News flash ...I spelled it wrong. Ces't La Vie, live and learn I guess! 

Well regardless of how you spell or have not spelled brussels, this dish is just plain yummy!  I mean come on, bacon and brussels sprouts are like long lost siblings. Then you throw in some toasted hazelnuts and a fresh lemon vinaigrette...ya, its a good thing. This is one of my go to recipes when having company over, and I'm thinkin its going to become one of yours as well!

Brussels Sprouts with Lemon, 

Hazelnuts and Bacon

Ingredients:

Vinaigrette-

zest of 1 lemon

2 Tbl lemon juice

2 Tbl brown sugar

1 Tbl olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Brussels Sprouts-

6 slices apple smoked bacon

1 1/2 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed and shredded with a mandeline, by hand or in food processor

1/2 cup hazelnuts

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Start by whisking together your vinaigrette ingredients; set aside. Loosly chop your hazelnuts and place in a pan to roast until golden; set aside to cool. Cook your bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Crumble or cut your bacon into pieces and set aside. Remove all but about 3 Tbl of bacon grease from pan. Add your shredded brussels sprouts to pan and cook on medium high heat until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Combine brussels sprouts, bacon, nuts, and vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper to taste.