Cooking: Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Today's recipe is another simple and satisfying roasted vegetable side! (If you like this dish, check out my roasted asparagus garlic fries.)

Brussel Sprouts! Before last March, I never would have believed that I would ever be enthusiastic about those words, unless it was enthusiastically expressing my distaste (having never had them, obviously). Then I went to Graffiatios for restaurant week and got the beets (trying new things!). Sadly, I disliked the beets & the rest of my meal but LOVED (and ate a lot of) my friend's appetizer. It was roasted brussel sprouts w/ maple syrup and bacon. Trying this was a GAME CHANGER, and as I later discovered had nothing to do w/ the maple syrup and bacon. When roasted, brussel sprouts become "sweet" on the inside, crispy on the outside, and are incredibly delicious.  Now I find myself excited when I have a longer workout because I can fit roasted brussel sprouts into my nutrition for the day! (And yes, 12 year old me is appalled, heck so is 21 year old me. Don't worry though - I still to this day have never attempted to eat them raw.) 

In the last year (starting immediately after that meal), I have roasted brussel sprouts probably 30 times or so (simply cutting in half, coating with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasting in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes).  I have even gotten my friends hooked on them! I took a break over the summer, but now that it's cold again (and snowing!) I have been really craving this dish and am full force back on board w/ brussel sprouts.

Then yesterday, another game changer. I stumbled upon another America's Test Kitchen recipe from the TV show cookbook that had a different technique for preparing them. Being up for adventure, I tried it out, and I will never go back! One of the potential issue with my previous technique is the inside can sometimes taste a bit bitter if you overcook the sprouts in order to get the crispiness on the outside. For the ATK recipe, they turn up the heat to 500 degrees, steam the Brussel sprouts in the baking dish using a little bit of water (covered) to cook the inside, and then uncover the dish and continue cooking until the outside caramelizes. This results in brussel sprouts that have the wonderful crispyness/sweetness on the outside, and a nice creamy inside. And I promise, it's much simpler than it sounds!

Let's get cooking!

Ingredients (serves 1-2)

2 cups Brussel Sprouts

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt 

pepper

1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Prepare the brussel sprouts by cutting the ends off and cutting them in half (or quarter for larger ones). Toss w/ olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1 tablespoon of water.

Pour into a baking dish (w/ aluminum foil), making sure the insides (cut side) of the brussel sprouts are face down.

Cover tightly and bake for 10 minutes. During this time, the 1 tablespoon of water will be enough to steam the brussel sprouts which will cook the inside. Shocking  I know!

Uncover, and continue to cook another 10-15 minutes until the brussel sprouts are browned (see below).

Remove from the oven and season w/ salt and pepper to taste (if necessary). I probably could have cooked these a little bit more, but I was tentative on the 500 degree oven. I like my brussel sprouts really browned though so like me, you will have to experiment to see what works for you. 

Enjoy!