Spicy Brussels Sprouts

Holiday meals in our house have taken on a new addition now that I’ve learned how to make Brussels sprouts. All I ever remembered about them growing up was how they stunk up the house and how they were cooked unevenly and were bland. By par-cooking them in the microwave you shorten the cooking time and ensure that they are always cooked perfectly. They have quickly become one of my favorite vegetables. They are salty, spicy, sweet and sour all in one bite.

Makes 6-8 sides

Ingredients

1 lb Brussels Sprouts (cleaned & halved*)

1 TBS Olive Oil

¼ lb Pancetta (sliced thick at deli) *

1 TBS of Garlic Confit (mashed) *

½ C Chicken Broth

1 TBS Fish Sauce

1 tsp Sriracha Sauce

1 TBS Balsamic Vinegar

Clean the brussels sprouts by cutting off the bottoms, slice in half, and remove the outer leaves (see note). Place the in a covered microwave safe bowl with 2 tablespoons of water and cook on high for 5 minutes.

Dice the pancetta into ¼ inch pieces. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until shimmering. Add the pancetta and cook until crisp. Remove the pancetta and place it on a paper towel to drain.

Carefully drain the Brussels sprouts and add them to the hot frying pan. Sautee for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the mashed garlic confit and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Add the fish sauce, Sriracha sauce, balsamic vinegar and pancetta. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half.

* NOTE: Cleaning Brussels sprouts can take a long time. I’ve found that if I treated it like a production line it goes much faster.

1.    Cut off all of the bottoms.

2.    Cut them all in half (many of the unwanted leaves will just fall off at this step.

3.    Peel off any unwanted outer leaves.

* Pronto Substitutes

Pancetta – substitute bacon.

Garlic Confit – puree whole peeled garlic cloves with just enough olive oil to make a paste.

To print a copy of this recipe go to Spicy Brussels Sprouts.