Cavolini di Bruxelles...Brussels Sprouts
It's been awhile since my last blog post, many apologies. I was away from Italy visiting my family in the United States and eating all the, as one would say in Italian schifezze americane, that is "American rubbish," i.e. bacon cheese burgers, chili cheese fries, cheesecake (lots of cheese, huh!). The United States of course also has its share of fresh and seasonal produce, but we'll get to that when I'm there over this summer for a longer period of time.
Right now in Italy we're near the end of the Brussels sprouts season. I know a lot of people like to wrinkle their nose in disgust at the sound of the words Brussels sprouts, but have you ever tried these things doused in butter? And did you know they are full of helpful anti-oxidants and mineral salts like phosphorus and iron? And, back in the day, because of their detoxifying properties, they were used as a hangover remedy![i] For a good website in English on all the healthy benefits of Brussels sprouts, click here.
According to the Italian "Alimentipedia" (food encyclopedia), Brussels sprouts actually originate from Italy and were brought to Belgium by the Romans.[ii] Other websites in English explain that while the oldest ancestors of Brussels sprouts did indeed come from Italy, the variety we grow and eat today was cultivated and spread to other territories from the area around Brussels in the 11th century.[iii]
All the cute cartoons I found in English making fun of how everyone hates Brussels sprouts were copy righted, and I couldn’t find anything in Italian – I guess it’s an English or American thing to hate and despise this poor little vegetable. In the last two months there have been three gastronomical events in the Turin area of Italy where I live celebrating the Brussels sprout and its other cabbage cousins![iv] I found an amusing little forum with lots a answers to that question from “they make my husband have stinky farts” to “most people are kids, and kids are picky eaters.”[v]
I encourage you to try at least one of the recipes below – for your health and for the good of exploration!
Brussels sprouts with hazelnut brown butter – for recipe click here
Brussels sprouts, cheese, chestnuts, pancetta, and pine nuts
This recipe is by Chez Babs – an Italian food lover whose blog has some amazing photography. This post was in honor of the release of a cookbook by another blogger whose pen name is “Cavoletto di Bruxelles,” or “Little Brussels Sprout.” For the original recipe in Italian, click here.
Ingredients:
- “sweet” pancetta
- butter
- fresh sage
- cooked/boiled and peeled chestnuts (see blog post on chestnuts for how to prepare chestnuts)
- Brussels sprouts
- Nutmeg
- Mascarpone cheese
- Roasted pine nuts
Instructions:
1. Boil the Brussels sprouts in salted water until they are “al dente,” don’t over cook!
2. Let the pancetta sizzle and simmer in the butter and sage (you judge quantities here).
3. Add in the chestnuts and mix everything together so that all that good buttery goodness covers all the ingredients.
4. Add in a pinch of nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve with a spoonful of mascarpone cheese and roasted pine nuts.
Brussels sprout and fennel salad with orange and almond dressing
This one has some fancy gourmet ingredients that I’m not sure I translated right, but I’m sure that if you explore a bit online you can figure out what will work! For the original recipe in Italian, click here.
Ingredients: (for two servings)
- 7/8 Brussels sprouts
- 1 large fennel
- large salt
- sliced almonds
- 1 orange
- vanilla extract
- 5 grains of whole black pepper
- 1 spoon of “smoked Viking salt”
- cold-pressed, “spray-able” olive oil
Instructions:
1. Toast the almond slices in a pan.
2. Cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice out of one half. Carve out the pulp from the other orange half. With a carrot slicer or any other appropriate kitchen tools you have, slice off some pretty ribbons of orange peel like you see in the picture. Set everything aside for the moment.
3. Remove the outer leaves of the Brussels sprouts, cut off the base of the sprouts and let them sit then for a few minutes in water mixed with a bit of lemon juice (preserves color).
4. Rinse and then dry the Brussels sprouts before cutting each in half.
5. Bring salted water to a boil and cook the Brussels sprouts for around 10 minutes.
6. In the meantime, remove the outer layers of the fennel, remove and set aside the fern-like “beard” of the plant to use later as decoration, and cut the fennel into slices.
7. Drain the Brussels sprouts and run them under cold water to stop the cooking.
8. Mix the Brussels sprouts, fennel, and orange pulp together.
9. In a separate bowl, we’ll make the dressing. First, grind and then toast the pepper grains in a pan.
10. In a blender, put the fresh-squeezed orange, a spoon-full of the smoked salt (I would try less first and then add more if you feel it needs it), a drop of vanilla extract and the oil and blend so that the dressing takes on some body, a bit like mayonnaise.
11. Pour the dressing over the salad, adding to garnish the toasted almonds, and for a final touch the fennel piece previously set aside.
Last, but not least, the simplest recipe and the only I actually tried (because I went to the grocery store before I looked up ingredients this time):
Brussels sprouts with butter and Parmesan
Ingredients:
- little less than a pound of Brussels sprouts
- 4 Tbsp of butter
- 4 spoonfuls of shredded Parmesan cheese
- salt
- one lemon
Instructions:
1. Prepare a bowl of cold water and squeeze in the juice of one lemon.
2. Remove the outer leaves of the Brussels sprouts, cut off the base of the sprouts and let them sit then for a few minutes in water mixed with a bit of lemon juice (preserves color).
3. Boil a pot of salted water and dump in all the Brussels sprouts. Let them cook in the boiling water for around 10 minutes.
4. In the meantime, shred your Parmesan cheese if you didn’t buy it shredded.
5. Put the butter in a frying pan and put it on low heat to melt.
6. Drain the Brussels sprouts, in another bowl mix them with the cheese, and then dump them into the pan with butter. Mix around a bit, salt to taste and serve!
PS – I reheated these the next day with a bit of nutmeg and pepper and they were great!
Labels: Brussels sprouts, butter, cheese, chestnut, Italy, Mascarpone, Parmesean, Piedmont, vegetable
posted by Michelle at
7:22 AM
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