I Love Me Some Brussels Sprouts

What an unfair rap these get.  Most experiences with Brussels sprouts involve a long old-school boil, ensuring a gross mushy texture and pungent sulphur taste.  So I get the apprehension.  But there’s another way, people – fast roasting. And that makes all the diff.  Nutty, crispy, umami.  It’s a whole new veg. Let’s hit it –

The Prep:

• Oven on 425°.
• Rinse sprouts (sometimes they are sandy), slice off a bit of the bottom stumps.
• Quarter the big ones, halve the little ones.
• As you handle and cut up the sprouts, some leaves will fall off.  Separate from the cut sprouts.

Here’s where it gets interesting.  We’ve got the sprouts, and the fallen leaves.  These are going to cook at different rates, let’s take advantage.

• Separate the loose leaves from the sprouts.  Toss both with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder.  You could add some onion powder if you were feeling that.
• Onto separate pans (or on the same pan but apart) and into the fast oven.
• Start checking the leaves at around 6 mins.  When crispy and starting to brown, evacuate.  While you are in there, toss around the sprouts a bit.
• The sprouts stay in until browned but still with a bit of bite, maybe 6 or 8 min more.

The Pros:

It’s an inside secret, veggies this good.  Quite unexpected from our maligned cruciferous friend.

The Cons:

Like the dates, this is another dish where it’s tough to be restrained and just leave it alone.  I feel driven to add toasted pistachios, a drizzle of crème fraiche and balsamic glaze ….    And that’s ok to try, but in the first instance give it a whirl as is.  It may sound Plain-Jane, but believe me it’s Sassy-Sue.

The Takeaway:

These sprouts are all about good.  But the leaves — the fam goes crazy for them.   We start picking them off the pan right out of the oven.  By service, they are already half gone.   These days I don’t just use the leaves that fall off voluntarily, I discipline the sprouts so they give up more of the goods.  Watch out, sprouts.  Here I come.