Let’s be frank about something. Brussel sprouts have a reputation problem. Most of the time they’re over steamed or boiled, which leaves them with all of the appeal of a soggy sports sock.
This would probably be the time where I’d invoke some dry little anecdote about the brussel sprouts from my youth. Except they weren’t there. There is a small, cabbage shaped chasm in my memories, because we never, ever ate them.
But, these brassicas are a useful contribution to a festive table. For one, the colour. It perks up the pale blonde of a bird beautifully. For two; the sheer novelty of the stems that they occasionally come in.
They make a luridly fun centrepiece of a long table (though don’t do what I just have and plant one in a glass vase for a week and forget to change the water. You know the smell of old flowers? Compound that by 1000 and you have old-sprout-water).
If I wasn’t currently en route to Miami (this little Australian finds a Christmas Day without a swim nigh impossible to swallow), I’d want to be making both versions of these; raw and roasted and serving it with as much dark meat from the turkey that I could pilfer without looking gluttonous (really, who eats the white meat anyway?).
The beauty of these recipes is that the same accompaniments work if you’re serving them raw or roasted. These are lovely on their own, great when next to each other but spectacular if combined together when the roasted sprouts have cooled to room temperature.
If you can’t get hold of apple cider vinegar, feel free to use white wine vinegar, but double the maple syrup so you still get a good level of sweetness.
If you’re serving these to vegetarians you could omit the bacon and make the dressing with 3-4 tbsp of olive oil.
All in all, I think these are the makeover sprouts have been waiting for. If you need further visual proof, here’s a video that vouchercodes.uk produced of me a couple of weeks ago making them. I hear they were all eaten by the crew for lunch- and managed to secure a few sprout converts along the way.
I’m chalking that up as a win.
Nb, Merry Christmas. Hoping it’s a day filled with things you love.
Brussel Sprouts Two Ways
(Raw and roasted, both with bacon, apple and hazelnuts)
Raw Slaw with Apple, Hazelnuts and Bacon
Serves 4
Shopping/foraging
250 grams brussel sprouts, trimmed and shaved on a mandolin, or in a food processor
80 grams of lardons
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1-2 tbsp maple syrup
60 grams hazelnuts, toasted and skins rubbed off with a tea towel or paper towel
30 grams of parmesan, finely grated
1 crisp red apple, grated
Here’s how we roll
1) Place the lardons in a fry pan over a medium heat and cook until the fat has rendered and the pork strips are crisp.
2) Scoop the crisp lardons out of the pan and add to the shaved sprouts. Keep the bacon fat in the pan.
3) Add the Dijon mustard, vinegar and one tbsp of maple syrup to the bacon fat. Whisk to create a dressing. Taste- if it’s too sharp, add a little more maple syrup.
4) Add the toasted hazelnuts, parmesan and grated apple to the bacon and sprouts. Toss to combine.
5) Dress with the bacon fat dressing before serving.
Roast with Bacon, Hazelnuts and Parmesan
Serves 4
Shopping/foraging
400 grams brussel sprouts trimmed and halved
2 tbsp of olive oil
generous pinch of salt
80 grams of lardons
60 grams hazelnuts, toasted and skins rubbed off
30 grams of parmesan, finely grated
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
Here’s how we roll
1) Preheat the oven to 200C/392 F.
2) Add the sprouts, cut side up into a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Bake for 30 minutes, until the edges are crisp and the centre is soft.
3) Place the lardons in a fry pan over a medium heat and cook until the fat has rendered and the pork strips are crisp.
2) Scoop the crisp lardons out of the pan and add to the roasted sprouts. Keep the bacon fat in the pan.
3) Add the Dijon mustard, cider vinegar and maple syrup to the bacon fat. Whisk to create a dressing.
4) Add the toasted hazelnuts and to the bacon and sprouts. Toss gently to combine.
5) Dress with the bacon fat dressing before serving.
Merry Christmas! I hope this season brought you many second servings 🙂
Congratulations on the book by the way – I love your recipes. Wishing you all the best with it!