I didn’t grow up hating brussel sprouts. In fact I sort of liked them before I tried them because they’re so cute – I mean little baby cabbages, how could you hate anything so mini and innocent looking? Especially when you see them growing on the stalk, they’re actually kind of beautiful. But I can definitely identify with hating overboiled vegetables and brussels suffer from this worse than most veggies. If they’re going to be part of so many festive meals, they ought to be cooked properly…
We ate at the wonderful Pelham House in Lewes on Christmas Eve and I had the best veggie roast of my life – a beautiful mushroom and chestnut pie in puff pastry accompanied by perfectly cooked vegetables with just the right amount of bite. Even the brussel sprouts were perfect – with a caramelised outside and no hint of that overboiled sourness. I was feeling inspired to try to do something similar with our Christmas day veggies alongside my ultimate vegetable pie. So of course I totally overcooked and ruined my brussels on the day! Gutted. I blame the breakfast cocktails… We also managed to ruin the butter tart we’d been planning for dessert oops – next year I’ve got my eye on this figgy pudding instead or maybe even a chocolate yule log – so cross fingers. Oh well Christmas is about so much more than the food and ours was beautiful regardless.
But I was determined to rectify my mistakes and see if I could cook some brussels to match the ones I’d had on Christmas eve. And since I never do anything by halves, I thought I’d try a few different methods of cooking them and see which one was best. So the brussels were roasted, braised, steamed and stir-fried…
Roasting: I expected to love this roasted brussels recipe from Simply Recipes but for me the dark, caramelised leaves on the outside of the sprouts overpowered the delicate flavour of the insides. I also felt the brussels needed close monitoring to make sure they didn’t overcook and turn to mush inside which could be tricky if you’re making a lot of other sides at the same time for a big roast dinner. That said, roasting definitely gives brussels a whole new dimension of flavour and one that is quite different from any other cooking method, so it could still be worth a try for the diehard sprout haters, and is particularly suited to larger sprouts which won’t overcook so easily.
Braising: I also expected great things from this braised brussels recipe from Deb at Smitten Kitchen as I have tried so many fabulous recipes from her site. I did adapt the recipe to what I had to hand so I’m sure her version is still delicious, but again, for me all that stock and cream risks overpowering the actual flavour of the sprouts or even turning them to mush. Speaking of which…
Steaming: Instead of just steaming the brussels, I cut them in half and seared them first as in the Smitten Kitchen recipe above to give them some caramelised flavour. I then steamed them briefly and the result was fairly tasty but just a bit too close to that boiled flavourlessness for me. I ended up feeling that any water-based cooking method is going to remove some of the flavour from the brussels and if you’re making other dishes at the same time for a big meal, there is a big risk of overcooking and ruining them.
Stir-frying: For me, this was the surprise winner of the big test. I wondered if the brussels would cook through sufficiently but they did and they held onto all the flavours I added (which I also added when using the other methods…) A squeeze of lemon juice and a clove of garlic were enough to lift the delicate flavour of the sprout without overpowering it. The texture was by far my favourite – plenty of bite but still soft and caramelised. Deliciously simple and easy to make on the stove while you finish off any other roast veggies in the oven, this will be my go-to sprout cooking method from now on.
My recipe for simple stir-fried brussel sprouts:
Wash sprouts, remove the stems and cut in half. Heat a bit of butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is nice and hot, place the sprouts in one layer, cut side down. Season generously with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until the bottoms are nicely browned and caramelised. These can be done in batches if they don’t all fit. Once all the sprouts have been browned, put them all in the pan and stir fry for a further 2-5 minutes until cooked through (if your sprouts are large, you might want to cover with a lid or a piece of foil during this time to help ensure the sprouts cook all the way through). Add any further flavourings during this final cooking – a couple crushed cloves of garlic, a few squeezes of lemon juice, a dash of vinegar, a trickle of honey or a spoonful of mustard – whatever you takes your fancy. Then devour straight away.
(if you’re looking for even more ways to cook your sprouts – you can also treat them just like a cabbage and slice into a stir fry, slaw or use in any other cabbage recipe…)
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