Brussels sprouts

December 22, 2010

Flattery (Recipe: Quinoa with Brussels Sprouts)

Charles Caleb Colton said “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” If you ask me, receiving a call from an old client requesting more work is far better.

And so it happened, last week I received an email from Sauchuk Farm requesting that I create a new cookbook for their 2011 growing season.

Last year, I started ghost-writing cookbooks for farms looking for a new way to connect with their customers. For the CSA farms especially, these cookbooks were especially helpful. Each week the subscribers would receive a boxful of produce – sometimes with familiar items but not always. And often, the customer would get a glut of greens one week or tomatoes another. The cookbooks offered a way for the consumers to learn about the produce they were getting every week, with descriptions of how to handle the food, storage tips and recipes – which proved particularly useful when the customers were up to their eyeballs in Swiss chard.

The second volume for Sauchuk Farm will be a bit more challenging as I’ve used up my larder of recipes for the particularly difficult vegetables. Sure, I can write recipes for tomatoes until the cows come home, but recipes for kohlrabi, kale, Brussels sprouts and chard will be a bit more difficult.

As luck would have it, just after I received the order for new cookbooks, I went out for dinner at Union Bar and Grille and had a wonderful side dish of quinoa and Brussels sprouts.

The next night, I replicated the dish. And then two nights later I made it again, but with bacon. It’s really simple, but very satisfying in a light way.

Quinoa with Roasted Brussels Sprouts
It’s very important to rinse quinoa before cooking as the grains have a bitter reside on them that comes from processing.

½ cup quinoa
½ pound brussels sprouts
2 tbs. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin or chopped
½ lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

1.    Rinse quinoa under cold water. Put in a small saucepot, and cover with water. Add 1 tsp. salt. Cover the pot and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until quinoa has popped and is cooked through.
2.    Cut Brussels sprouts in half and then slice thin.
3.    Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil, and let heat for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes or until aromatic. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook, stirring regularly, until they are bright green and soft. Remove from heat.
4.    When quinoa is cooked, drain excess water. Toss with Brussels. Add juice from ½ lemon and season to taste with salt and pepper.

February 3, 2010

The Stars Aligned (Recipe: Pompano with Clementine Ginger Relish)

Picture Credit: Land Big Fish

Now that I’m a food blogger, I view meal-time differently – no longer is it about nourishing myself nor gathering with friends for an engaging repast; it’s an occasion to tell a story. And as I prepare my dinner, I think about what that story might be, whether it’s the vegetables from the garden, a trip to Asia or the fish I’m cooking.

Dinner the other night was brimming with stories.

I was driving home my milking experience and stopped en route at my favorite fish store. As I scanned the case, I noticed whole pompano. It’s a fish I’ve only eaten once, and probably 25 years ago. The recipe came from the Time-Life Cookbooks; I served it with kiwi and Jerusalem artichoke. The memory is etched in my mind of one of my favorite fish, though I’ve never eaten it since. I had to purchase it and remind myself what so enticed me.

When I got home, the ground had thawed again, allowing me to harvest more Brussels sprouts. These prized jewels would make a lovely accompaniment to the fish. Trying to get out of my bacon-rut, I opted instead for a relish of clementines and ginger. I still had a few citrus left in the case I bought, and they were on the verge of rotting… a relish would be a quick and easy way to use them up.

And, of course, I had to use the milk – fresh from the cow, only hours old. The dairy manifested itself into wonderfully light and buttery spaetzle.

The story of my dinner may be incoherent, but the meal was eloquent and divine!

Broiled Pompano with Clementine Relish and Roasted Brussels Sprouts
(spaetzle recipe coming soon…….)
1 whole pompano, filleted
3 clementines
1 shallot, peeled and diced fine
1 tbs. minced ginger
1/4 cup Chinese Rice Wine
2 tbs. butter
1 sprig fresh tarragon, or 1/2 tsp. dried
olive oil
canola oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut Brussels sprouts in half. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place them on a cookie sheet in a single layer, cut side down. Roast in a 400F oven for 20 minutes, or until crusty brown on the bottom.
2. Meanwhile, section the clementines, removing the white membrane.
3. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Season fish with salt and pepper. Add a thin layer of canola oil to the pan. Gently place fish in the pan, skin side up. Cook over high heat for 5 minutes, or until brown edges are visible around the fillets. Flip the fillets, and cook for two minutes more. Remove fish from pan, and set aside in a warm place.
4. To the fish pan, add the shallots and ginger, and cook for 2 minutes or until they soften. Deglaze the pan with the wine, and reduce. Remove from heat and swirl in butter. Stir in the clementines and tarrgagon.

Serve fish with Brussels sprouts and clementines drizzled on top.

January 20, 2010

Winter Break (Recipe: Brussels Sprouts ” Carbonara ” )

Perhaps my biggest gardening challenge is that I want to grow more vegetables than I have room for in my tiny little patch. The upshot is that I crowd my plants, trying to squeeze as much in as possible, and my vegetables tend to be smaller since they don’t have as much room to spread out and grow.

So my plants are smaller than the “supermarket size” benchmark. As I harvest throughout the season, I try to thin the plants so that the survivors will have more room to grow. And I try to hold out and wait until the vegetables get bigger. With Brussels sprouts, I have an additional challenge: the weather. I want them to get decent sized, but also survive a few day frost to help sweeten these petite cabbages.

This year, winter arrived with a vengeance, and I didn’t have a chance to harvest all the Brussels sprouts before they were buried in a layer of snow. And while the snow melted off the plants, they never fully defrosted so that I could cut them off the stock… until this weekend.

I had about a 5 hour window on Saturday, after the temperatures had been above freezing for 2 days and the plants had thawed, and before the next cold front passed through. I harvested enough for a delightful meal. The rest will wait until the next thaw.

Brussels Sprouts “Carbonara”
I had intended to make a carbonara style pasta dish, substituting Brussels Sprouts for the spring peas. But as I rummaged through the refrigerator, I discovered I had run out of bacon. I did have smoked chicken in the freezer, so I added that instead – giving the dish a meaty, smoky, rich flavor. And in an attempt to keep my diet healthy, I added just a few tablespoons of cream to keep the pasta moist, but didn’t make it rich and gooey as is more traditional.

½ pound pasta
2 chicken thighs, smoked, or two slices of bacon, diced
Brussel sprouts
2 tbs. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, ch
Pinch chili flakes
3 tbs. cream
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese – at least 1/4 cup, but use more if you’d like.
Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season generously with salt.
2. Meanwhile, cut Brussels in half. Toss them with olive oil (or bacon if using), salt and pepper. But them in the oven to roast for 15 minutes.
3. Boil pasta for 1 minute less than the package instructions.
4. After the Brussels have roasted 15 minutes, toss them with garlic and chili flakes. Return to oven for an additional 5 minutes to toast the garlic.
5. Drain pasta. Toss with cream, Parmesan. Add chicken and Brussels. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper (and lemon juice)

I'm submitting this to January's "Grow Your Own" round-up. Originally, started by Andrea of Andrea's Recipes, Nate and Annie have picked up hosting responsibilities.

November 29, 2009

Always the Bridesmaid (Recipe: Squash Gnocchi)

About 2 months into culinary school, my ego was convinced I should be a better cook. I began experimenting with recipes that I previously would never have dreamed about trying…. For Passover I decide to make a whole salmon stuffed with a trio of mousses: spinach, red pepper and potato. I imagined a most impressive presentation with spirals of tricolored mousses contrasting the orange salmon. I shed a few tears as my brother-in-law tried to encourage me through the process.

A few months later at my uncle’s house, I attempted squash gnocchi. They weren’t much better. Thankfully, the audience was equally supportive as I tried to fumble my way through dinner.

Though, I’ve mastered many complicated dishes since graduating from culinary school, I still harbor a little trepidation about squash gnocchi. These winter vegetables straddle into the “starch” classification, but don’t have the binding qualities that Idaho potatoes have, making them more challenging than regular potato for gnocchi and other dumplings. And like the spinach and bell peppers of the mousse fiasco, they have a high water content which requires extra flour as a binder, and can cause leaden dumplings.

A few weeks ago, I decided to tackle the squash gnocchi again. I figured that 20 years was enough time to get over the old wounds and develop a repertoire of skills to get me through.

My first attempt was a mediocre at best… based on my research, I thought I’d be able to roll out the gnocchi by hand as I do with regular potato. The dough was so wet that I kept adding flour and more flour… to the point that I knew I’d have dense dumplings (and based on the comments from my matzah ball post, I know that a loud minority actually prefer this).

Attempt #2: I got the brilliant idea to pipe the dough into the boiling water. This allowed for a wetter, lighter dough, and worked much better. I served these with roast duck, but the duck skin cracklings stole the show.

Since I wanted to blog about these, I recreated this recipe for Thanksgiving. And as delicious as they were, they were upstaged a second time. This time, I tossed them with Brussels sprouts from the garden which were roasted with bacon.

The dumplings are great, but are easily upstaged.

Squash Gnocchi
1 butternut squash
1 acorn squash
1 ½ cup flour
2 eggs
½ tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder (optional)
1 cup chicken broth or 2 tbs. butter
1. Cut squash in half. Put on a baking sheet, cut side down. Add water to the pan, and bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until squash are tender. It may be necessary to add more water to the pan if it all evaporates.
2. Let squash cool. Scoop out seeds and discard.
3. Scoop out pulp into a food processor and blend until smooth. Measure out one cup of puree (set aside the remainder for soup or another favorite recipe). Add flour, eggs, curry powder, salt and baking powder. Blend in food processor minimally, just until smooth.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt.
5. Fill a piping bag with a large plain tip. Fill with gnocchi filling. Gently pipe out ¾” logs, and then cut off into the water with a butter knife. Boil for 2 minutes. Scoop out with a slotted spoon into a dish with either the butter or chicken broth (this will keep the dumplings from sticking together before serving.
6. It may be necessary to cook the dumplings in batches.
Serve with Brussels sprouts, duck or turkey.

October 20, 2009

Finger Lickin’ Good (Recipe: Korean Fried Chicken)

I went to bed last night stuffed to the gills, but also a little giddy about the left-overs I’d have for lunch today. Dinner was that good!

How could I have not loved it? It was fried chicken, after all. And my love affair with fried chicken – from Popeyes to General Gau’s – is well documented. The recipe came from a recent article in the New York Times about fried chicken that showcased variations of the classic Southern as well as a Korean version.

I didn’t have the Korean chili paste that the recipe called for. But with a little research, I discovered that it is a spicy bean paste. I had sriracha (Thai Chili Paste) and sweet bean sauce (a Chinese condiment), and blended the two. I used my homemade ketchup which had a nice balance of warm spice.

I’ve struggled over the years to get my general gau’s chicken to stay crispy after it’s been tossed in the sauce. Only once did I achieve that. With this recipe, the chicken is tossed in a mix of corn starch *and* wheat flour. This made a huge difference in crisp-maintenance.

Traditional Fried Chicken is often served with cole slaw. Inspired by Cooking with Amy’s recipe for raw Brussels sprouts, I made an Asian flavored slaw with shredded brussels sprouts.

Korean Fried Chicken
Adapted from Quick and Easy Korean Cooking by Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee

Time: 30 minutes, plus one hour’s marinating

1 small yellow onion, peeled and coarsely grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 scallions, cut into rings
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for coating
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, plus more for coating
8 to 10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, quartered
3 tablespoons Korean chili paste (gojuchang), or a blend of Chinese Bean Sauce and Sriracha
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, more for garnish
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Oil for deep frying
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cornstarch

1. In a medium-size bowl, combine grated onion, garlic, 1/2 of the scallions, salt and pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat well. Cover and set aside to marinate for about 1 hour.

2. In a large bowl, stir together chili paste, ketchup, sugar, sesame seeds and lemon juice. Taste and adjust flavors to get a spicy-sweet-tangy finish. Set aside.

3. Pour oil into a large heavy pot to a depth of 1 1/2 inches. Heat to 350 degrees. Combine flour and cornstarch in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper.

4. Working in batches to avoid crowding, lift chicken from marinade, dredge lightly in seasoned flour and cornstarch, gently drop into oil and fry for 5 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining chicken, checking oil temperature between batches.

5. When all pieces are done, increase oil temperature to 375 degrees and refry in batches for 30 to 60 seconds, until very crisp. Drain once more on paper towels. While chicken is still hot, brush thickly with chili sauce. Serve hot, sprinkled with sesame seeds and scallions.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

October 12, 2009

Sprouting Brussels Sprouts

Every year, I grow Brussels sprouts. The first time I saw a stalk of Brussels sprouts at the farmers' market, I was intrigued… I’ve always enjoyed eating them, and decided that such a beautiful plant deserved coveted real estate in my garden.

Indeed, when planning my garden, I factor in many things: what will the yield be per square foot, how much money will I save, how much better will it taste for being home-grown? Brussels sprouts barely merit growing for these reasons, but the sheer novelty of the plant warrants space.

In past years, my sprouts have never achieved “supermarket size.” Is it because I crowd the plants, constricting the root growth and hence the plant – limiting the amount of nutrients the roots can suck up from the soil? Or perhaps, I need to lop off the top to push the nutrients back down into the budding sprouts.

This year I did both. I measured precisely 36 inches between each plant. And last week, after I cleared away all the remaining tomato plants, I cut off the top tuft of leaves. I’m wondering, should I also strip away the leaves, giving the buds more room to grow?

I know the brussels sprouts will taste sweeter after the first frost, but some of the buds are sprouting open. If I don’t harvest them now, I won’t have any to eat, sweet or not.

A little nibble at the leaves tells me they’re still a little bitter, so I roasted them with sweet potatoes and bacon to balance the flavors.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Sage

1 slice bacon
1 sweet potato
Handful of brussels sprouts, cut in half
1 tbs. olive oil.
Salt and pepper
Fried Sage

1. Dice bacon. Put in an ovenproof dish and into a 425 oven.
2. Meanwhile, peel and cubed sweet potatoes.
3. Toss sweet potatoes with bacon, season with salt and pepper, and return to oven. Roast until browned and soft.
4. In a separate pan, toss Brussels sprouts with olive oil, slat and pepper. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, or until tender and caramelized on the bottom.
5. Mix the two together. Garnish with fried sage.

March 23, 2009

Wintered Brussels Sprouts

With only a handful of Brussels sprouts still growing on the stalk, I wanted just the right recipe to make the most of this special treat. Having recently come across some great ideas in the food-blogosphere, I opted to deviate from my usual Roasted with Bacon.

I combined two recipes: Brussels Sprout Hash with Caramelized Shallots and Bacon from Evil Chef Mom with Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar from White on Rice Couple.

2 slices bacon, diced
1 shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 brussels sprouts, sliced.
2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a medium skillet, add bacon. Cook over low heat until the fat starts to release. Continue cooking until there's about 1 tbs. of rendered fat.
2. Turn heat to high and add shallots. Cook, stirring regularly, until shallots and bacon start to brown. Drain off excess fat.
3. Add brussels sprout leaves. Cook until they turn bright green, about 2 minutes.
4. Deglaze pan with balsamic vinegar. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper.

November 17, 2008

Brussels sprouts are the number one underrated vegetables, with beets coming in a close second. Of course, I love them both, perhaps because they are perfect vehicles for bacon. Or that they are both nutritional powerhouses. It wouldn’t be beyond me to love them because they are both beautiful: brussel sprout plants are so fun, and beet puree – how can you not love that color??

This year, I planted 4 stalks. All survived the aphid attacks on the brassicas, though one plant’s growth was stunted because it was sowed into what became a rather shady spot. The sprouts grow just above the leaves. You can harvest the sprouts when they are just ¼ inch in diameter or you can wait until they are larger. Since the sprouts don’t uniformly grow at the same rate, its best to harvest just the ones that are the desired size. While the whole stalk makes an impressive presentation at the Farmer’s market, it’s not the most practical.

My favorite preparation is roasted with bacon and horseradish, though the olive oil roasted brussels sprouts at Toro fall into a close second. Blanch the sprouts first in salted boiling water and toss with rendered bacon. Roast the brussel sprouts with the bacon in a 450 oven until the sprouts are tender. Toss with prepared horseradish.