An ode to Brussels (sprouts that is)

* NB. I was planning to post this before Christmas. But making fudge, nougat failures, cakes, puddings, stuffings and all things inbetween got in the way. So here it is anyway for those of you having a Christmas dinner round 2 (or perhaps 3, 4 or 5, we all have to get our fill!) *

#2 for the Christmas countdown

What is Christmas without them? The Marmite of the Christmas world. Love them or hate them, they have to make a feature at the festive table.

Not too hard to guess

Hello sprout friend

They’re in season from October to March, a true winter vegetable they are little hardy creatures. To pull through the snowy weather, night chills and complete lack of warmth we should pay them some more respect. No Ken Bruce, the sprouts shouldn’t be put on to boil in August. Nor should they require long arduous hours of cutting crosses in the bottom. Ignore all the myths, I’m going to give you the FACTS. How to make them the stars of the show because a sprout isn’t only for Christmas!!

Quick. Fast. Hot.

Not the review given by The Evening Standard for the next 50 Shades of Grey film, but three words you should remember for future reference when cooking your sprouts.

We have all been brought up with mushy sprouts found to grace every table at Christmas. Boiled to an inch of their short lived lives, leaving a whiff in their wake. Nutritionally there’s not much going for them by the time they reach your plate, but most importantly they taste pretty bad and soggy.

I want to cover the nutritional front first, but you wont even care when it comes to eating them, they will be that good. My crack Brussels?!?

Brussels sprouts are a cruciferous vegetable, think cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, pak choy, kale. A lot of our favourite greens tend to be cruciferous, meaning they have sulphur compounds in them. These phytonutrients are known as glucosinates and have a proven ability to fight cancer and disease. Pretty powerful stuff!

Also high in Vitamin C, A, K, Folate, Potassium, Fibre, just to name a few. All cruciferous vegetables are well worth adding to your diet, but Brussels sprouts in particular as they top the list for the highest concentration of glucosinates.

Now onto the cookery. You see the sprouts don’t require much of your time at all. Just 10 minutes in a piping hot oven will char them and soften them just nicely.

Or perhaps, try stir frying, deep frying(?!?) or even add them to your festive slaw. Slice really realllyyyyyy thinly and toss with the usual mix of carrot, cabbage, fennel, pepper and leave to soften in a sharp and zippy dressing.

Blooming marvellous.

You’ll either find them in a net, loose in a bag or even on a stick!

Sprouts, like most other brassicas stand up to a good punch in the face of flavour. They pair really well with flavours from the east, ginger, soy/tamari, miso, spring onion, chilli. Also Moroccan flavours such as sumac, ras el hanout, dukkah, sesame, harissa, or just go traditional with lemon, herbs, butter and a good grinding of salt and pepper.

My favourite way of preparing sprouts has to be roasted, piled in a bowl with loads of other veggies like baked sweet potato, creamy avocado, hummus and a big pile of tangled rocket leaves- it makes the ULTIMATE winter bliss bowl.

 

 

Tamari and coconut roasted sprouts

Ingredients

• Coconut oil
• Sprouts, as many as you’d like
• Tamari
• Lime

Method

1. Turn the oven up to 220C, you want it hot so the little outer leaves burn slightly and get really crispy.
2. Slice the bottoms off the sprouts and peel off any leaves if they’re a bit scabby
3. Slice the larger ones in half, but leave smaller ones whole.
4. In a ceramic or metal dish (big enough to fit all the sprouts in a single even layer) put a spoon of coconut oil in, around 1 tbsp should be good and put into the hot oven to melt.
5. When the coconut oil is hot, take the dish out the oven and toss the sprouts in the hot oil. Shake over a good amount of tamari and pop back into the oven.
6. Cook for around 10 minutes, when finished they should be tender but not mushy.
7. Tip into a serving dish, squeeze over a bit of lime and serve whilst still hot. However they’re still as good cold.

 

Cranberry, cinnamon and ghee

Taking our favourite flavours from cranberry sauce, the tart but sweet cranberries contrast nicely with the slight bitterness of sprouts. Feel free to use coconut oil again instead of ghee, it tastes lovely but ghee has that rich butteriness and the golden colour is just too beautiful!

Ingredients

• Sprouts
• Ghee
• Cinnamon
• Dried cranberries

 

1. Set the oven to 220C
2. Put a spoon of ghee into a metal/ceramic dish and put into the oven to get hot.
3. Wash the sprouts, chop off the ends, peel away any scraggly leaves and cut bigger ones in half.
4. Take the dish out the oven toss the sprouts in the hot ghee, sprinkle over a little cinnamon and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
5. Place in the oven for 10 minutes or until crispy and tender.
6. Tip into a serving dish and mix with a handful of dried cranberries.

 

Lemon and parsley

Finally, a good zesty option that will go with almost anything. Make sure to use a nice quality rapeseed oil or something that has a high smoking point. Avoid extra virgin olive oil and leave that for drizzling at the end.

Ingredients

• Sprouts
• Rapeseed oil
• Parsley
• Lemon
• Extra virgin olive oil (or more rapeseed oil) for drizzling

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220C
2. Put a glug of rapeseed oil in a baking dish/tin and leave to warm up in the oven.
3. Prepare the sprouts as before, cutting any larger ones in half.
4. Take the dish out the oven, tip in the sprouts sprinkle over salt and pepper and leave to roast in the oven for around 10 minutes.
5. When cooked to your liking, take out the oven, finely zest some lemon over the top, sprinkle over some finely chopped parsley, squeeze over a little lemon juice and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
6. Serve in a bowl and dive in.

As there are so many delicious variations here’s a list of links from fellow bloggers and chefs and recipes that I am adding to my ‘to make’ list.

• Squashed Brussel Sprouts
• Miso-Date Ghee Brussel Sprouts
• Burnt sprouts with pomegranate and sesame
• Shredded sprout salad (three ways)
• Parmesan Brussel Sprouts
• The Guardian, 10 best Brussel Sprout recipes
• Coconut roasted sprouts with cranberries
• Balsamic brussel sprouts and red grapes
• Winter buckwheat and shaved brussel sprout bowl
• Shaved brussels sprout christmas salad
• Creamy miso pasta with brussel sprouts
• Maple Balsamic roasted brussel srouts
• Sriracha Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Give them a go, and do comment below telling me your favourite ways with sprouts!!

(And that is not in the bin!!!)

Much love, and festive wishes with a bottle of sherry on top

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