For His Master's Veneration: Best Baked Brussels Sprouts

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Best Baked Brussels Sprouts

The other day slave was busy working on a big complicated dinner. It decided to fix Brussels Sprouts as a side dish. Now my Master Indy does not savor that particular green vegetable. Can slave get an “AMEN”? So when that is served it HAS to be special and extra tasty. In just a few months the holidays will be upon us and Brussels Sprouts can be a great element to your holiday table. So slave thought instead of writing up this big dinner as planed, lets just focus on this side dish.

Learn to do this well and it will be the first empty bowl on the table. Even when the ones you are cooking for “HATE” those things! In fact you could even make a dessert out of them, no kidding!

Ingredients:

1 lbs fresh Brussels sprouts
1 orange
¼ cup maple syrup
Kosher salt
olive oil
Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the fresh vegetables in a vinegar bath. (About ½ cup white vinegar to a large bowl of luke warm water). Let them soak for about 5 minutes.
Line a baking pan with foil and pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom.

Rinse off the sprouts, remove any spotted outer leaves and cut as much of the stem off as possible. Then cut each length-wise. Place the cut side down in the pan.

When all are cut, sprinkle with kosher salt.
Now with a “zester”, zest about 2 tablespoons of just the bright orange skin over the top of the sprouts. Avoid any of the white part. If you just used the juice of the orange, it might turn bitter, however the skin has the orange oil which is sweet. You will be able to smell the aroma as you work.
Now carefully drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top.

Do the same with the maple syrup. Cover the end of the bottle with your finger so that only a small amount comes out at a time. Be sure to wipe off the bottle with a damp paper towel so you will be able to open it the next time.
Place in the 400 degree oven to roast for about 30 minutes. Or until you start to see bits of brown on the outsides. The sprouts will be crispy on the outside and golden and caramelized on the cut sides.

Many cooks forget that this vegetable creates a natural gas that can cause bitterness and thus earn its bad taste reputation. When they are cut and roasted with a touch of something sweet, this gas dissipates leaving a wonderful aroma and taste that will draw the family to the table.