Over the last few years, Brussels sprouts have been trending across food blogs and restaurant menus alike. Brassicas in general have been quite popular in mainstream food culture of recent and they include different types of kale, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflowers.
Over the course of my culinary career I’ve been putting this tasty Brassica on people’s plates when the season calls for it. I’ve been trying to get people to like them as much as I do. I have some fond memories sharing my love for this frost hearty, late season vegetable with others.
I won’t soon forget the time at the small Mirvish Village spot in the Annex where I ran the kitchen that a guest was surprised to find out he just ate Brussels sprouts and actually enjoyed them. He thanked me through the server for reintroducing them to him in a way he found palatable. They certainly were not the over-boiled mushy sprouts of his childhood.
Another time I was visiting a beer hall in Brooklyn, NY and got into a conversation about food with a young Wall Street investment banker. She was wondering how to make brussels sprouts taste good, so I took a napkin and wrote a recipe on it for her. When I checked in with her to see if it worked out, I was happy to find out it was a successful endeavor.
The recipe I shared with her went something like this.
Roasted Brussels Spouts
- Brussels Sprouts cut in half
- Thyme
- Shallot (onion, preferably red is ok if you can’t find them)
- Unsalted Butter
- Salt
- Pepper
- Parsley
Direction
- Trim outer leaves of sprouts, set aside. Cut sprouts in half.
- Heat a deep pan on medium-high heat and put a generous amount of butter.
- You want the butter to foam, not burn. Put sprouts in pan and season well with salt.
- Once a nice golden crust has formed on them add shallots and thyme.
- You still want the butter foamy in the pan, add more butter as needed.
- You can continue cooking until they are beautifully caramelized on the outside and still firm in the middle or take it as far as you want and have them soft.
- When they are almost done add in outer leaves and cook until just soft. Finish with fresh ground pepper and parsley.
Option: you can cook outer leaves in salted water until just tender and use as a bed for the roasted sprouts.
Optionally you can start with cut up bacon or salt pork instead of butter.
