merrifood

Roasted brussel sprouts

Posted by merrifood on August 5, 2012 · 2 Comments 

All people that have hatred of brussel sprouts MUST read this post.  I realise it is quite the polarising vegetable.   People who don’t like it probably haven’t had spectacular roasted or caramelised brussel sprouts with pancetta/bacon/meat at a tapas or small-plates restaurant (a la Estragon in Boston’s South End or Cumulus in Melbourne) or sampled the ridiculous ones off the menu at Porteno in Sydney (where yes, they deep fry them – but very quickly).  However, I would like to make the claim that I actually know how to make these tasty little veggies taste good without bacon (bold, I know) or loads of oil, so you can actually enjoy their plentiful health benefits.  The key is to roast them and use just a bit of high quality olive oil to bring out more flavour.  I absolutely adore brussel sprouts but literally haven’t seen them in my usual grocery store in the SIX MONTHS I have been shopping there.  Imagine my delight when I found them for a reasonable price at a speciality grocery store in Potts Point – I obviously had to buy them immediately.

Roasted brussel sprouts with onion

Serves 2 as a side dish, one as a main (that’s right, I ate this bowl for dinner along with a side of salad.  but then had brownies for dessert to effectively cancel out the healthiness)

Ingredients

About a pound / half a kilo of brussel sprouts, although honestly go crazy – the more the merrier

2 onions

Splash of high-quality olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Instructions

For the onions, chop off the ends, peel away the outer layers, and roughly chop into sections.  Then separate all the layers out so there are fairly thin about 1 sq inch pieces.  For the brussel sprouts, chop off the ends and discard, then slice in half lengthwise.  Often while doing this, some of the outer leaves fall off, which is great – I tend to peel away several layers of the brussel sprouts while cutting them, because these leaves become crispy when roasted and add great texture to the finished dish.

Spray a sheet or baking dish with nonstick spray and layer the veggies in one layer in the dish.  Bake at a 400 degree F / 200 degree C for about 20 minutes – check at that point and taste, and if the onion is still hard, bake at least 5 minutes longer before checking again.  They are finished when they are tender and actually taste good.  Remove from the oven, add a splash of olive oil, a liberal sprinkling of sea salt, and some cranks of black pepper and mix it all up.  Continue to season to taste.  Transfer to a bowl or bowls and enjoy your green goodness.

Ingredients pre cutting

Chopped brussel sprouts

Layered in the pan

They are complete when the leaves are starting to get brown and crispy and the onions and brussels are tender

Ready to eat!