"Not only are these not organic," I whispered to my hunky farmguy Joe one day last winter as I grabbed two bags of Trader Joe's packaged brussels sprouts, "they're from Mexico!"
"Am I going to have to stage an intervention?" he asked, as I flung yet another bag into our cart, both of us knowing full well that I'd be picking up a few more pounds during the next stop on our St. Louis grocery shopping trip, "just in case I didn't get enough at Trader Joe's." I couldn't help myself.
Confession: I've never tasted a truly fresh Brussels sprout, let alone one that came straight from the garden. I started some Brussels sprouts seeds this year (way too late, I later learned) but they were apparently duds.
I'm also guilty of letting my imported, non-organic Brussels sprouts languish in the fridge for several weeks before eating them. Nevertheless, during the past year I've become ridiculously addicted to these scrumptious little cabbages.
I'm the sort of person who looks forward to eating leftover roasted Brussels sprouts for breakfast with a lot more enthusiasm than would probably be considered normal. Unfortunately I'm also the sort of person who almost never has leftover roasted Brussels sprouts around for breakfast because I end up devouring them all the night before.
It's a lot easier than you might think to put away an entire pound of these (thankfully healthy) little things.
I did force myself to adhere to a strict sprout moratorium last spring and summer; even in my severe sprout craving state I had trouble justifying the purchase of foreign produce when so much garden bounty was at hand. But that's all over now.
Fortunately this is the time of year when it's easy to find Brussels sprouts grown here in the US, often made even sweeter by a frost. If you're lucky enough to have a local source for sprouts, please go snap some up.
You can often find them still attached to the stalks at farmers' markets and even at some grocery stores. If not, the ratty old ones at the supermarket are pretty darn delicious.
Less Fuss, More Flavor Quick Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Serves at least one - Adapted from Fine Cooking
**Click here to print this recipe**
These are quick and easy, one bowl, one pan Brussels sprouts. There's no need to cut a little X in each stem or boil them before roasting (why do people do this?). You don't even have to turn them while they're cooking.
The unbleached parchment paper keeps the nicely browned bits sticking to the sprouts instead of the pan and also makes for easy clean up.
I finally figured out how to increase my chances of having leftovers for breakfast—roast two pounds of brussels sprouts at once. Simply double the ingredients below. I can fit two pounds of sprouts on one 12"x17" commercial half-size sheet pan.
I love to toss roasted Brussels sprouts with farfalle (bowtie) pasta and plenty of freshly grated Romano or Parmesan. For a real treat, fry up some bacon, then sauté some coarse fresh breadcrumbs in a few Tablespoons of the bacon grease over medium heat until golden and crisp. Toss the pasta and Brussels sprouts together, then top with the crumbled bacon, bread crumbs, and cheese. So good.
Basic Version:
1 pound Brussels sprouts
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if desired
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several grinds fresh black pepper
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more to taste (I like lots of lemon juice)
1/4 cup (1/2 ounce) freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
Slightly Gussied Up Version:
1 pound Brussels sprouts
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if desired
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
Several grinds fresh black pepper
1 to 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
1/4 cup (1/2 ounce) freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano
Optional:
Handful or two of drained and rinsed canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
Heat the oven to 475°.
Remove any yellow or funky outer leaves on the Brussels sprouts, then trim the core ends and halve lengthwise.
In a large bowl, toss the sprouts with the olive oil, salt, and pepper until thoroughly coated. For the gussied up version, whisk together the olive oil, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in your mixing bowl and then add the Brussels sprouts, tossing until thoroughly coated.
Arrange the sprouts cut side down and evenly spaced on a rimmed heavy duty baking sheet lined with unbleached parchment paper. If they don't cover the whole sheet, spread them around the edges for the best browning.
Roast until the sprouts are tender and brown, about 12 to 15 minutes, depending on your oven, the size of your sprouts, and how done you like them. Start checking after about 10 minutes if you prefer that they still have a little crunch.
Place the hot roasted sprouts back in the mixing bowl, add the lemon juice, Parmesan or Romano, and garbanzo beans (if using) and toss until combined. Season to taste, adding a little more olive oil if desired, and serve.
More Farmgirl Fare vegetable side dishes:
Still hungry? You'll find links to all of my sweet and savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index.
© FarmgirlFare.com, the roasty toasty foodie farm blog where some of us even eat Brussels sprouts for breakfast.
