Monday, October 1, 2012

Brussel Sprouts With Clout!

No vegetable can cause grown people to wrinkle their noses and exclaim their disgust like the poor, misunderstood brussel sprout. People who haven't even tried them declare that they are horrifying, vile, nasty things. To those people, I say you have no idea what you are missing!

Now maybe your mother, or grandmother boiled the little buggers till they were grey and you had to eat them with a spoon. And to all of you, I am so sorry! But please don't blame the brussels, blame the cook!  Give them another chance.

So how do you go about making the best brussel sprouts ever?  Simple...add bacon and hazelnuts!  This recipe is so easy, and can be prepped all in advance of your holiday meal. So why not give these poor baby cabbages another try, I promise you will not be sorry.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Hazelnuts.
Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1 lb Fresh Brussel Sprouts
6 slices bacon
1/4 cup Hazelnuts
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Put the hazelnuts on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  If the nuts still have the skin on them, put the nuts on a clean dish cloth, fold the cloth over the nuts and rub the nuts in the towel until the skins peel off. Chop the nuts roughly and put aside.
3. Cut the bacon into small pieces and put into a fry pan. Cook the bacon slowly over medium-low heat to crisp the bacon and render out all the fat. When the bacon is cooked, scoop it out and put it on a paper towel, reserving all the fat.
4. Trim all the brussel sprouts, by cutting all the stems and removing any wilted leaves.  Slice the sprouts in half.
5. Toss the sprouts in the reserved bacon fat and season with salt and pepper. Put the brussel sprouts on cookie sheet or other baking dish.
6. Roast in oven for 20-25 minutes, stirring half way through. Sprouts are done when they have some roasted colour and al dente. You do not want to over cook them, they should still have some crunch.
7. When cooked, toss the bacon and nuts into the sprouts and serve.


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