Wednesday, December 10, 2008

How to stink up your house - Brussel Sprouts

I remember liking brussel sprouts as a kid. I later had them on a truck stop buffet and they were mushy and bitter and just not good in any way. I decided at that time, that they were not good.

Skip years ahead. I'm standing in the grocery store on Saturday and I see them on sale. I know they're in season. I've seen lots of appetizing posts on blogs and decide that I want to try preparing them myself. I purchase a little over a pound. When I got home, I looked through some cookbooks and online and decided how I wanted to prepare the mini cabbages. I think they turned out great, even though they stunk up my house.

Brussel Sprouts

Makes 6 servings
Ingredients:
1 lb brussel sprouts, washed and trimmed
2 tb olive oil
2 tb butter
3 large shallots, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
a splash of lemon juice
1/4 cup toasted almonds
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Boil brussel sprouts in salted water for 3-4 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking and keep the pretty green color. Cut the brussel sprouts in half.
Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until they are just softened (about 3 minutes). Turn the heat up to medium high. Add the brussel sprouts and butter and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Saute for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and toss with parsley, lemon juice, and toasted almonds. Salt and pepper to taste.

Stumble Upon Toolbar

14 comments:

Melanie Busbee said...

I so love brussel sprouts. Hubby always cooks them in brown butter.
Your photos are lovely!

Anonymous said...

They get such a bad rep, but brussels sprouts are the new black! So good. We love 'em roasted too!

teg said...

They are quite stinky -- but also tasty -- love 'em!

KosherGirl said...

If you are feeling a little decadent, you can also add a little pancetta, bacon, or other smoked meat (I use beef fry because I keep kosher) when you add the onions. It brings a smoky quality to the brussel sprouts that totally works with their stinky earthiness. Dee-lish!

Heather said...

i love brussel sprouts! they never get the attention they deserve! and holy gorgeous on that photo! love it!

KelseyP said...

I'm just a random visitor, but I also love brussel sprouts, although I hated them as a kid. Now I like to cut them in half and roast them in the oven with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. When they're done I drizzle them with balsamic vinegar. Yum!

Veepka said...

Boil brussel sprouts until almost tender and drain. Now melt butter and add brussel sprouts, let the Brussel sprouts brown a bit, add cream cheese and peanut butter and coat the sprouts. Eat! Delicious!

Rico said...

I don't find them stinky, however my house does get stinky after I eat them as the night goes on :) ...sorry to share this with you, but is the truth...Charlotte's also have the same effect on me but I love this recipe and I love both of these veg, separate or together. If you check my blog you'll see me using Charlotte a bit.

Jeni said...

Thanks for the input everyone! I think butter seems to be consistent in everyone's methods hahaha. I appreciate you sharing and it's nice to know there are so many tried and tested ways of preparing them!!

Joyanna said...

I freakin' love brussel sprouts. Lately I've been preparing them like so (p.s. they won't stink up your house this way, but they'll give you enough gas to propel yourself across the room):

For 1 lb. of brussel sprouts, slice 'em into thirds or halves, if they're small.

1)Toss with olive oil (or sesame oil works really well, too).
2)Throw in about 1 tbs. of thai garlic/chili sauce (or more...if you dare!)
3)Splash with vinegar (maybe I should start paying attention to portions, but I'm guessing I use about 1/2 cp or so.)
4)1/4 cp or so of fish sauce (this is my new must have)
5) To taste: soy sauce, mustard, pepper, shallots
6) Roast them suckers until they're withered.
DELICIOUS!

Aren't you proud of me Jeni? My first post...only took, what, a year or so?

Jeni said...

I am so proud of you. You broke your cherry.

Do they not get bitter when roasted until withered? I had a couple of more "done" sprouts in my batch that were less crisp and they were bitter inside.

Sarah R said...

I love roasted brussels with garlic... LOTS of garlic!!!

Zoe G. said...

As a kid I could never understand why children on TV always hated brussel sprouts. At my house brussel sprouts are doused with olive oil and sea salt and roasted in the oven until the outer layers are slightly crispy. Yummy!

Madeline said...

I love brussel sprouts. As many times as I have had horrible mushy ones, I never got turned off of them, thankfully. I like to roast brussel sprouts with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. I find they take on a whole new flavor. Your recipe sounds really great, although I might be tempted to add a little bacon :)

LinkWithin Related Stories Widget for Blogs