Easy roasted Brussel Sprouts

Roasted crucifers are always delicious. I have not made brussel sprouts in a long time, but got some this week and wanted to roast them. I've struggled before to get consistent sprouts, but I think now I have the basic method down. The critcal needs: coat sprouts in olive oil (or coconut oil), roast on high heat (425 or 450) with whatever spices, all in a single layer. Also, you can roast the leaves on the pan, and remove them earlier as they crisp up for a tasty appetizer!

I made these ones with coriander, special garlic chive salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and sumac and they were delicious. A little spicy, crunchy on the outside, and soft and melty on the inside.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts
1 pound brussel sprouts, halved (unless they are small!)
Olive oil
1/2 tsp Coriander
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp Sumac
pepper
Smoked salt

Pre-cooking, with leaves mixed in

1) Heat oven to 425. Toss brussel sprouts in olive oil and spices (in a bowl or on the baking sheet).
2) Spread brussel sprouts in a single layer on a baking sheet, cut side down. Place on lower rack in oven. Bake for 25-35 minutes, depending on size of sprouts. After 20 minutes, flip sprouts over.
*If you put some of the single leaves on the tray, remove them after 15-20 minutes and eat them. They will be crispy and delicious!

Garden Bounty - Brussel Sprout leaves, pesto, and berries

The garden is in full swing: the zucchini and cucumbers are flowering, the green beans and arugula are carrying on, the blueberries and black raspberries are winding down, and I just ate the last snap peas. Everything else is just getting a LOT bigger and greener. Due to the growth and increasing plant size, I am thinning out a bunch of greens and plants to give more space. This is sometimes hard for me because I seem to get a little hoard-like and want all of the plants to stay and keep growing, but I am learning that more space = bigger and happier plants.

So, thinning it is: kale and beet plants, but had not thought about eating the brussel sprout plants. My Charming Companion sent me this post about the tastiness of brussel sprout leaves though, and we made a big pile of them last weekend. They are a little like super tender collards - you only need to saute them for a minute or two and they are delicious. Here they are all piled up ready to slice.

They got cooked outside on the outdoor rocket stove for a leisurely outdoor breakfast and tea. Here is My Charming Companion adding the tiny kindling sticks to heat the tea.

The sprout leaves were really nice sauteed in a little olive oil with some salt. Super simple.

A couple of other weekend meal highlights included unearthing some frozen pesto from 2011 (time to eat that up before we process more for the freezer!) and putting it on steamed green beans. Omg. I could have eaten this all weekend and still wanted more. Pesto! It's so good. I think this was even a vegan version with no cheese in there. Just steam the green beans until tender (3-5 minutes), remove from heat and stir in the pesto. These were a new pole bean variety that were super long and thin and tasty.

The nasturtiums are also looking really pretty, and I throw them in all my salads. This one included an early cucumber, the last snap peas, tons of fresh basil and parsley (think equal part fresh herbs to arugula), and a mini carrot that was all red on the outside and orange in the middle. You can't see it, but it matched the nasturtiums! This salad got a dressing with some of the aforementioned pesto (mixed with olive oil and a little vinegar) because I really just wanted to keep eating pesto. It turns out the pesto makes a great dressing, and I especially recommend it with lots of fresh basil in the salad too.

Another "omg I am going to die this is so delicious" menu item from the garden was berries with toasted coconut and toasted almonds. Sometimes I take shortcuts and don't toast coconut flakes. No more. Just stick the flakes under the broiler for about 2 minutes (keep an eye on them because it goes really fast) and watch them turn a nice toasty brown and taste how the flavor sky rockets. With the almonds and fresh berries, covered with coconut milk and a little vanilla, this was amazing. Like cereal, like dessert, like a bowl of goodness.

Roasted Veggies

The local veggies that seem to be brimming over at the co-op right now include about 8-10 squash varieties (I am really all about the kabocha right now), lots of mushrooms, and tons of root veggies - particularly parsnips, carrots, and beets. So I made up a big batch that I mostly have been eating for breakfast with some eggs - with fresh parsley over everything. I definitely did not follow this recipe exactly (also pasted below), but it had basically all the root veggies I happened to have in my fridge plus some brussel sprouts. The whole thing is creamy and delicious and carmelized tasting. And so easy!

Ingredients - feel free to swap or change amounts:
3 parsnips
6 carrots
1 onion
1 large sweet potato
1 lb brussel sprouts
olive oil
salt and pepper
fresh chopped parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub carrots and parsnips (cut into 2-inch pieces if large). Slice onion in wedged slices.  Peel and slice sweet potato into wedges. Trim Brussels sprouts and cut in half. Toss all vegetables in generous amount of olive oil. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Spread onto a large baking sheet and roast, turning occasionally until cooked and browned, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.

Bohemian Brussels Sprouts

I have been eying the brussels sprouts recently (entirely due to some AMAZING ones that I had at Brasa a couple of weeks ago), but was feeling a little too cheap to actually buy them (the organic ones were $6 or $7/pound). And then I was at Mississippi Market, and they had conventional ones for $3/pound - so I went for it.

I was really wanting something sort of crispy - and found this recipe from The Clothes Make the Girl blog. I also came across a great idea to use the extra leafy bits that inevitably come off each sprout to make a "Brussels Sprout Chip". You just toss those leaves in some ghee or coconut oil, salt and pepper, and spread as a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 8 minutes. mmm.

Bohemian Brussels Sprouts

1 pound brussels sprouts
1 1/2 T coconut oil
1 clove garlic, minced (I omitted this)
1/2 T caraway
1/2 t paprika
1/2+ t smoky salt
salt and pepper to taste
drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Chop off ends of brussels sprouts and quarter.
Melt coconut oil in small pan, and stir in garlic, caraway and paprika before pouring over sprouts. Stir well with a wooden spoon.
Layer brussels in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment and sprinkle with smoked salt*.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, stirring once or twice. Serve!

*I've gotten mildly obsessed with smoked sea salt lately, and another fancy salt called "fleur de sel avec epices grille" - which is the french way to say sea salt with grilled spices. And um, these things are damn tasty. Though not cheap (why I will buy fancy sea salt but not organic brussels sprouts is a question I also ask myself...) Anyway, I just tried a new smoked salt that Heidi Swanson recommends (she makes citrus salt with it, which I am going to try and will then post about). It is flaky and oh so good! No matter what kind you use, I do recommend the smoky salt over a regular sea salt.

Roasted fall veggies

I went to the farmer's market tonight (only 5 markets left at Midtown!) to bulk up on some squash and try out the brussel sprouts. Things are quieting down at the market - they did have tomatillos at one stand, lots of peppers and tomatoes, some cabbage, onions, broccoli, potatoes...but it is definitely a smaller crowd. Oh winter, here you come.


I got home late and was tired - and opted to go for simple. I made a rice pilaf - which I am calling pilaf only because I used chicken broth instead of water. This made the rice seem much more exciting and flavorful with no extra work on my part.

And then I made a pan of roasted veggies: aforementioned brussel sprouts, sweet potato and onion. The final result was filling (pilaf is more filling than rice) and delicious. The sprouts were thumbs up, btw. Get your stalk and cook some up soon! (I hear the stalk is good roasted whole in a grill - have not tried that yet, but it sounds enticing, if also higher maintenance.)

Roasted fall veggies (not really modified from this blog post)
1 sweet potato, diced in large bites
1 stalk brussel sprouts
2 small onions, quartered
2 T balsamic
1 T olive oil
honey
salt and pepper

Remove sprouts from the stalk, wash to get any loose dirt off.
Make sure veggies are all dry before putting them in a roasting pan.
Mix up the balsamic, oil, and honey (1-2 tsps) and pour over the top.
Cook on 425 for 30-40 minutes, stirring a couple of times in the middle.
Generously salt and pepper (extra salt was really good).
Serve!