Kyle’s love for Brussels Sprouts cannot be contained (see: Exhibits A, B, C and D), AND – it is Thanksgiving, so we shall revel in his love for these cruciferous delights! Add another side dish to your menu for Thanksgiving or for your after-holiday Friendsgiving… you will be happy you did!
While perusing Ottolenghi’s new cookbook, Simple, Kyle naturally gravitated towards the Brussel Sprouts. We have Kyle’s love for Ottolenghi’s food well documented on this site. However, in some of his cookbooks, particularly Nopi, there are many hard-to-find ingredients and complicated cooking methods. As a result, the recipes usually are not readily accessible for home cooks of all skill levels.
In Simple, Ottolenghi presents a collection of recipes that, for the most part, can be prepared in 30 minutes or less, contain 10 ingredients or fewer, or can easily be made ahead of time. This cookbook has already done the streamlining that Kyle usually performs when tweaking Ottolenghi’s recipes. The Simple recipe for roasted Brussels Sprouts are tossed in a brown butter and black garlic sauce before being topped with a drizzle of tahini and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Apparently, “black” garlic is a fashionable ingredient right now. It is garlic slowly heated over the course of weeks (yes, you read that right), creating a gently caramelized and fermented product that possesses a sweeter and more mellow flavor than the harsh taste of raw garlic. While black garlic is having it’s spotlight moment for the time being – it is not readily available in all supermarkets.
To make the recipe a bit more accessible and, at the same time, emulating the philosophy of Simple, Kyle decided to swap out the black garlic and use a few ingredient hacks to replicate the flavor of the black garlic. Before browning the butter, he cooked the garlic in the butter to try and remove the harsh flavor. Black garlic also has notes of balsamic vinegar and umami flavors, thanks to the fermentation process during its marathon browning process. In order to reproduce these flavors, Kyle added a splash of balsamic vinegar and fish sauce to the brown butter sauce.
Kyle’s sauce may not be EXACTLY like Ottolgenghi’s sauce; however, the final result was so flavorful and complex, there is no need to ever worry about tracking black garlic down at the grocery store. This sauce ended up being a cool embodiment of global fusion cooking: a mix of French (browned butter), Asian (soy and fish sauce), Italian (balsamic), and Middle Eastern/Mediterranean (tahini) cuisines. A truly international side dish, with all of its flavors harmonizing together to create a sauce that was a sum of all its parts.
Once your Brussels Sprouts dish is complete, add a sprinkle of toasted seeds – the crunchiness of the seeds complement the crispiness of the roasted sprouts. This is a side dish that is chuck full of fantastic flavors – it will truly steal the show at any holiday table!
Inspired by Simple.
- 1 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half lengthways
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 star anise
- 1 ½ teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
- Dash of fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, toasted
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- Heat the oven 425 degrees F. Mix the halved sprouts with the oil and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, then spread out on an oven tray lined with baking paper and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked through and crisp on the outside, tossing the sprouts around the pan halfway through cooking.
- Put the butter, garlic, and star anise in a small saucepan on a low heat and cook, until the butter has melted, the garlic has softened and the mixture has become quite fragrant, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium and cook until the butter foams up and turns brown. Remove from heat and discard star anise. Stir the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and lemon juice into the browned butter.
- Transfer the brussels sprouts to a serving platter and top with pumpkin seeds, browned butter sauce and tahini. Serve immediately.
Leave a Reply