Tags
brussel sprouts, butter, chicken broth, cream, dijon, mustard, olive oil, shallots, white wine
Growing up, I never ever ate brussel sprouts. This was an inherited dislike, because my father had a bad experience with brussel sprouts when he was a kid and now can’t even look at them. As a result, we never cooked them or ate them, and I didn’t even know what they looked like until a few months ago. Wow, was I missing out! When they are cooked the right way, brussel sprouts are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. You can eat these little buttery balls of goodness on their own, over rice, with quinoa, you name eat. I recently ate brussel sprouts baked into a pastry pinwheel at a restaurant, and it was probably the most amazing appetizer I’ve ever had. I haven’t been able to re-create that one yet, but this recipe from Smitten Kitchen is equally delicious. Many brussel sprouts recipes tend to be on the fatty side, with bacon and cream, but this recipe uses dijon to spice things up. Yum!
Dijon Braised Sprouts
From Smitten Kitchen
1 pound brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt & pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup broth (chicken or vegetable)
1-2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon smooth dijon mustard (or more to taste)
Trim sprouts and cut in half. In a large, heavy 12-inch skillet heat butter and oil over moderate heat. Arrange halved sprouts in skillet, cut sides down, in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook sprouts, without turning until undersides are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Note: skillets can heat up quickly and you want to brown your sprouts without burning them. To make sure this doesn’t happen, you can turn the heat down to medium-low after a few minutes and check your sprouts after a couple minutes. Note #2: If your sprouts don’t fit in one layer, brown in batches and add them all back into the pan when you continue with shallots, wine, etc.
Add the shallots, wine and stock and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low (for a gentle simmer), cover the pot with a lid (foil works too, if your skillet lacks a lid) and cook the sprouts until they are tender can be pierced easily with the tip of a paring knife, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove the lid, and scoop out brussels. Add cream and simmer for two to three minutes, until slightly thickened. Whisk in mustard. Taste for seasoning, and adjust as necessary with more salt, pepper or Dijon. Pour sauce over brussels and serve immediately.