As I shared in a previous post, I am going to try (0r retry) two foods every month this year. First up is brussel sprouts! Why? Well to be honest my friend Alexis offered to prepare some for me and then I found a whole stalk at the store and thought it looked really cool:
Aside from my friend using previously frozen sprouts sauted in olive oil with garlic salt. My reaction that they tasted like a veggie version of meatballs with a bit of mushiness. I wanted to try myself and added two more simple recipes.
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Prep Time: ~25 minutes | Serves: 3
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound Brussel sprouts, halved rinsed and drained
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
- Salt, to taste
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Preheat oven at 450 degrees.
- In a pan toss sprouts with olive oil and spices until coated evenly.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and tender. Stir about halfway through.
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Brussel Sprouts in Lemon Butter Sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Serves: 3
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb Brussel sprots
- 2 tablespoons unsalted Butter
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano
- Juice of half a Lemon
- Salt, to taste
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Bring an inch of water to boil in a pot.
- Add Brussel sprouts to water and return to boil, then reduce to low heat.
- Simmer for 8 minutes.
- In a medium to large skillet melt butter, then add garlic.
- When garlic begins to brown (about 60 seconds) add remaining ingredients. Bring to boil.
- Reduce heat to low and transfer drained brussel sprouts.
- Toss to coat in butter sauce.
My conclusion: I still don't love brussel sprouts, all three recipes came out a little two bitter and mushy for me, but I would be happy to prepare or eat them again if necessary. Happy to hear tips on how to overcome the texture or bitterness problem if I'm doing something wrong!
What I usually do is sauté in bacon fat until just under al dente, and serve with a garlic/butter sauce with chopped bacon. Of course, that's not nearly kosher, so with my more kashrut-friendly friends I steam them until just under-done and serve with lemon-butter and a light garlic sauce. Both 'recipes' turn out really great. :) I happen to always undercook Brussels sprouts, since they do get mushy. Keeping them from fully cooking seems to nip that in the bud, though. Maybe next time blanch them instead of boiling? They'd turn out pretty raw but better in texture than what your second recipe yielded. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteYeah, my mum always used to cook brussel sprouts with bacon as well... not kosher, but tasty.
ReplyDeleteAnother recipe I make with them is to make up a garlic cream sauce from scratch (just make a basic white sauce with garlic and shallots in it, then chuck in your cheese of choice... I usually use parmesan, so it's basically a bechamel sauce). After lightly boiling the sprouts to soften them just a little, I chuck them in a casserole dish, cover them in the white/cheese sauce with some extra cheese sprinkled on top and then bake them for 20 mins or so. It's not exactly health food, but it is tasty. Sometimes I do this with a mix of cauliflower and the sprouts, or other vegetables like broccoli.
If they were bitter, it means you overcooked them. =) It's really hard not to overcook them, but they should end up crunchy, kind of like biting into iceberg lettuce rather than mushy.
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