Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Brussels Sprouts!

I know what you might think, Brussels Sprouts Ewww!  And to that I say, then who ever cooked the Brussels Sprouts you ate was mean.  Tim and I found the deliciousness of Brussels Sprouts last year, I had seen more and more TV chefs using them and we were very curious why so many trained chefs would be using a veggie with such a bad reputation.  I got a small pack from the grocery store and Tim sauteed them and they were sooooo good!  I kid you not they taste like veggie candy to me!  Toasty and almost sweet, but with the salt and oil on them, I guess they might be the kettle corn of the vegetable world if I had to describe it.  When sauteed or roasted their natural sweetness comes out and they are just amazingly good.  We prefer ours a little underdone so they still resemble Brussels sprouts, you can cook them longer, but then they start to have an acrid burned taste to them which I can't stomach.

This weekend I found a huge bag of sprouts at Costco, 2 lbs to be exact, and brought them home.  Usually when we find them in the regular supermarket they are a 10-12 ounce package, which is fine if you only want to eat 4 sprouts each.  So finding this huge bag was great!  Usually Tim does the sauteing and since he does such a great job, I'm afraid to do it now.  I'm such a chicken when it comes to cooking.  I love baking but cooking drives me wild.  Then out of no where Food Network posts a roasted Brussels sprouts recipe on facebook yesterday, as if they knew I needed it.  I did tweak it a little to suit our tastes better.

I couldn't have been happier with how they came out, if I hadn't had such a delicious Shepard's pie to eat, I could have eaten a whole bowl of these Brussels sprouts.  One exceptionally important bit of information about Brussels sprouts, no matter how you choose to cook them, NEVER EVER Reheat them!!!  We tried heating leftovers one time and I gagged.  This may be why some of you think you don't like sprouts, they are AWFUL when reheated I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that they are in the cabbage family, and all the gasses they release, I couldn't say definitely.  Just a word of advice for you, don't boil them or reheat them, those are the horrible flavors that everyone thinks of when they hear the words Brussels sprouts.  


With all that said, if you cook them right they are delicious, and down right addictive.  So here goes, I adapted Ina Garten's recipe yesterday and came up with this.


Roasted Brussels Sprouts


Brussels Sprouts (Enough for one meal, with no left overs, about a handful per person)
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
White Pepper


Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F).  Prep Brussels Sprouts by trimming off the base ends just enough to get the dried or browned portion off, and remove any yellow or damaged leaves, and cut in half.  Place halved Brussels sprouts on a rimmed sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and white pepper.  Use your hand to stir the sprouts around on the pan to mix and coat them.  Place pan in oven for 22 min, shake pan half way through roasting if desired.  Remove from oven and serve immediately, giving a few minutes so they don't burn your mouth, but certainly don't eat them cold.

Brussels Sprouts on the cookie sheet just after being removed from oven

Try them tonight and rethink your opinions of Brussels Sprouts!