Image courtesy of Wiki.
Those of you who know me from other boards will be familiar with my nemesis...
The Brussel(s) Sprout.
I have previously described this vegetable as "The Spawn Of Satan"... and that was when I was feeling charitable. My darling friend Maz, keeps offering to cook them for me, in a way that she assures me, will convert me... Something to do with bacon and chestnuts
I am skeptical.
So, to my dilemma...
I work with the lovely Monica... who just this minute has presented my with a farkin' HUGE bag of BS.
And, sadly, they fit all the SOLE criteria.
They're in season at the mo. They were grown organically in a friend of hers' garden. Locally (up the road in Keysborough).
So now what?
I can barely look at the bag, as it brings back memories of Mater Beige and sprouts boiled for 30 mins in water with a little bicarb added (To keep the colour
)Even Fritz, my trusty childhood dachshund, wouldn't eat them if I dropped them, surreptitiously on the floor!
Dinner tonight was going to be lime glazed chicken wings, with jasmine rice.
Any suggestions for what do do with a bag of BS?
I have a BS post of my own waiting in the wings!
ReplyDeleteI eat 'em like this or just halved and roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper.
However, I'm not sure that these approaches are going to convert a long-time hater. I hear that butter and bacon help. A lot. :-)
I was thinking to par-boil or steam 'em for a couple of mins, and then oven bake until this crispiness I hear so much about happens, and then drench then with terryaki and garlic.
ReplyDeleteAnd serve them as a side for the lime glazed chicken)
What say you, oh Veggie Goddess??
If you oven bake 'em for 15 minutes at 180-200 deg with a v. light coating of oil they should be tender inside and a 'lil crispy outside, even without boiling or steaming.
ReplyDeleteTeriyaki + garlic = genius!
When I saw BS I thought you were talking about the ACCC and the grocery farce. Par boil the sprouts then fry up with some lardons/bacon. maybe add some olive oil of walnut oil - a few walnuts is good too. the important thing is not to overcook them. I've had some fantastic dished like this this year.
ReplyDeletePaul of EAT ME! did a xmas in July dinner for me and he had them with chestnuts and panchetta cubed, superb!!!!! But I love them so you may not agree but hell it's worth a try... really delish!!!! Vida x
ReplyDeletehow many times do I have to tell you?
ReplyDeleteI see it's universally agreed that boiling the hell out of them for 30 minutes is a bad idea. I usually halve them and then caramelize them in butter, with garlic, in a heavy frying pan. Even my daughter, who loathes brussels sprouts, enjoys them that way.
ReplyDeleteI was in the same boat as you for years. HATED brussel sprouts. My mother ruined everything and bought only frozen veggies. UGH! Read my post "Not My Mother's Brussel Sprouts", I learned how to roast them w/ a little kosher salt and olive oil till nice and brown, sprinkle w/ pecorino or parmigiano reggiano! We are converted! We LOVE them now!
ReplyDeleteTry it, you'll like it!!!!
Stacey Snacks
I don't care how much in season they are, I loathe BS...
ReplyDeleteDo the earth good. Compost them.
I had the same problem as you - I couldn't stand boiled bs. Eventually I found a recipe on the blog http://greatbigvegchallenge.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteI ate it , and I liked it. next time I will add some garlic:
BRUSSELS SPROUT PUREE
Serves 4 as a side dish
1o -12 sprouts
A generous knob of butter
A handful of fresh basil leaves
3-4 tbsp of crème-fraiche
Salt and pepper to season
Bring a pan of water to boil. Quarter the sprouts and when the water is boiling, add them to the water and cook them for around 5 minutes. Take them out of the water with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl. Keep back a few sprout leaves.
Add a generous knob of butter, a handful of basil leaves and two tablespoons of crème- fraiche or double cream. Using a food processor or hand-blender, reduce them to a puree. Serve, decorating the edge of the bowl with the leaves you kept back.
Season with salt and pepper.
Shun, Oslo, Norway
Here's how they are going to be served!
ReplyDeleteFirst get 2 long, thick, elastic bands
Next find a leather patch, cutting a slit in each end
Next feed the elastic bands through the slits & loop
Open window, nail the ends of the elastic bands to the timber frame & commence firing the BS's across the road at the prick who beeps his F*CKEN car horn at 2.00am in the F#CKEN morning!
Hopefully he'll be hit in the head by a high powered BS & not see the light of day again.
Furry
hahaha
ReplyDeletecut in half. steam for 5 mintues. saute some pancetta in oil (i like a bit of chilli too). add steamed BS, coat with oil and pancetta.
thats all i need. great as a side for chicken, fish, meat etc
adding the chestnuts is yummo too
If the oven's on already, slice each one into thirds and oven braise with sliced onion, thyme bay, a glurg of vinegar and stock or water to half way up. If you leave it long enough - four hours here - it ends up a delicious silky mess which would be very nice with sticky wings and fluffy rice - from a Matthew Evans thingy in the paper a while ago.
ReplyDeleteWell... as you can see, I am having some trouble convincing Furry to ingest the BS's.. but I have hope for tonight....
ReplyDeleteProlly go with Grocer's idea...
Will report back!
The only thing to do with BS is put them on the compost heap....
ReplyDelete*jen*
This is for the NEXT time you land up with BS. Heat a teaspoon of peanut oil. Add some mustard seeds, then add 1/2 tsp of black gram dal. When dal turns reddish, add few curry leaves, then the quartered BS and salt to taste. Once the BS is 'al-dente, switch off the flame and mix in some fresh grated coconut. Have this as a side dish with rice smashed with thick lentil soup!
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of BS and I think anything that is so closely linked to butter and bacon is suspicious. Compost the BS and just serve the bacon!
ReplyDelete