Life-Changing Brussels Sprouts

Last week on my Twitter feed, I raved about a Brussels sprouts recipe that Bookavore made for me. I am trying to be guided by Michael Pollan’s Food Rules guidelines ("Eat food. Not too much. Mostly vegetables."), and finding a Brussels sprouts recipe that would allow me to enjoy the slimy little suckers amazing cruciferous joys was a very exciting thing. Many of you requested the recipe, hence today’s post.

You know you lead a tame life when you get excited about Brussels sprouts.

The recipe comes from Bookavore’s friend, Ami Greko. I was hoping that Ami was a Dallas Cowboys fan, because then I could name them "Greko-Romo Brussels Sprouts."

Alas, she is not. (Which show good sense and humanity, IMHO. Since the Eagles have been bounced, I am rooting for the Saints.)

So we decided to call these, It’s All Greko To Me Brussels Sprouts.

"Take like ten brussels sprouts (if you’re just cooking them for yourself) and clean all the gross leaves off. Cut off the bottoms and cut them in half (helps to cut along the line of the leaves, but not necessary at all).

Put them in a bowl and give a couple good klunks of olive oil. While they’re sitting, heat up a frying pan and add enough oil to just coat the bottom. You can also use cooking spray for the pan, but it’s less delicious. When the pan is at like medium heat (before the oil starts to pop) use your fingers to mix the brussels sprouts into the olive oil and then put them all cut-side-down in the pan. Use the brussels sprouts to spread the oil evenly around the pan. Do a couple cranks of pepper and cover with a tight-fitting lid.

You’re basically steaming the brussels sprouts this way. Don’t test too much, because when you take off the lid you let all the steam out–after about five minutes, open and poke the top of one of the bigger sprouts to see if it’s soft. It will probably take more like 8-10 minutes. When they’re soft, take off the lid and flip a sprout over to see if the bottom is browned. It probably will be, but if not just turn up the heat and let them cook for another couple of minutes. You’re going for golden brown, but some dark-brown-kind-of-burned ones are also delicious. When the bottoms are browned, turn off the heat but leave the pan on the stove and flip the sprouts over to brown the other side. After a minute or two, add more pepper and some salt and toss in the pan. Move to a plate and put some parmesan or asiago cheese on them.  They are now perfect and totally ready for eating."

Enjoy!

11 Replies to “Life-Changing Brussels Sprouts”

  1. I have to admit…

    ….I love brussel sprouts! My new favourite is to cook them with bacon, black beans, and some garlic. Just enough bacon to give it some flavour and cooking oil. Its delicious.

  2. I <3 brussel sprouts! I like braising them in a cast iron pan w/bacon, balsamic vinegar & a pinch of sugar, but vegetarians may not go for the bacon part of that. ;)

  3. My husband makes them in a similar way. He leaves the seasoning for when he plates them, using just a sprinkle of course sea salt. A drizzle of balsamic vinegar and they’re good to go. We snack on them during football games, as lame as that sounds. 🙂

  4. I originally detested brussels sprouts but then I saw this salad at one of our local restaurants and I had to try it. Steamed and then shredded brussels sprouts (so they are tender but still bright green and a little crisp), dried cranberries and blueberries, toasted almonds, manchego cheese, grilled chicken (optional) tossed in a very good mustard vinaigrette. I have to say…I fell in love with it.

    Your recipe sounds lovely as well.

  5. I do them like that but I don’t cut them in half, then roll them in shredded Parmesan cheese. Sometimes I put a little pat of butter in the pan with the olive oil.

  6. I’ve been wary of Brussel Sprouts, but my husband and I decided to start eating more veggies, so I’ll give this a try. Though the comments about making them with bacon sound pretty good too.

  7. Real Writers Eat Brussels Sprouts

    Applauds to bookavore for that recipe!! YEA!!
    I LOVE them..and if you want to kick it up a
    notch press a bit o garlic into the olive oil,
    and add some vino (white), and maybe justa little
    chicken broth. Yummm.

  8. One of Matt’s cousins is a professional chef in Atlanta and gave us a great recipe for brussel sprouts that even had my parents (who weren’t big fans of them) saying they were good: Take the sprouts and core them just like you would a head of cabbage. Peel all the leaves until you have a big bowl of individual leaves. Heat a pan of olive oil. Mince 3-4 cloves of garlic and add to the pan of olive oil. Saute the garlic for a minute or two before adding the brussel sprout leaves. Saute the leaves until they’re tender and a nice bright green color. For a little twist, you can add some finely chopped bacon.

    I wasn’t a huge fan of brussel sprouts until we tried this recipe. Now I can’t get enough of it!

    ~Lisa “formerly known as Quirk” Martinkovic

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