Double Take: Shredded Brussels Sprouts

This week's Double Take is a little different. We've both been sick this week and failed to make the challenge recipe scheduled ahead of time. Luckily, we both had a recipe stashed away for times like these so you still get a recipe!

A culinary match made in heaven: ribs, Brussels sprouts, and garlic smashed potatoes.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I like Brussels sprouts. I find these little cabbages quite tasty.
Don't get me wrong, they can be gross just like any other vegetable that's cooked improperly. But when cooked properly, they sing. My favorite way has always been roasted very simply with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Not so different from how I like asparagus. But recently I was looking for something green to round out a dinner party menu and stumbled upon this little gem of a recipe (mainly because Brussels sprouts are sold in 2.2 pound packages here and I needed to get them out of my fridge to make room for everything else). I also knew there was no way I could easily convince Tabitha to make them, so they were fair game. Plus, the ribs were in the oven and I only have one rack, so I needed a recipe that didn't use my oven. I knew this recipe would be perfect!

I don't know if you've ever worked with Brussels spouts before, but they can be quite time consuming. Peeling off outer leaves, cutting the stem off, then "shredding" them by slicing. All these steps take time, much more time than listed in the recipe (20 minutes total for prep), but since ribs cook for 3 hours, time wasn't the issue. I did shred them early so that I wouldn't have to worry about them later, and I highly recommend doing this step ahead of time if you have the chance. I had relatively small Brussels sprouts, which could have been the reason for the time discrepancy. Larger sprouts = fewer sprouts = less time shredding

I diced my onions instead of slicing so they'd blend in a bit more.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts

from the all-new ultimate Southern Living Cookbook, full version available online here

Ingredients

2 pounds Brussels sprouts

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 small purple onion, cut into slivers (1/2 cup)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preparation

Wash brussels sprouts; remove discolored leaves. Cut off stem ends and thinly slice brussels sprouts. (They should look shredded.)

Heat butter and oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot. Add shredded brussels sprouts, garlic, and onion slivers. Saute 8 to 10 minutes or until brussels sprouts are tender and onion is lightly caramelized. Season with salt and pepper; transfer to a serving bowl. Serve hot.

Yield: 8 servings (the yield was actually quite accurate this time!)

Warm veggie goodness.

THOUGHTS:

While prepping the Brussels sprouts took a while, the dish itself came together quickly. I think I cooked it for 15 minutes instead of the recommended 8 to 10 to get it a bit browner, but it is still a quick dish once the sprouts are prepped. I served this dish to a crowd of people who normally don't care for Brussels sprouts, but every single one of them cleaned his/her plate. Of course, I was also serving the Loaded Garlic Smashed Potatoes and everyone went back for seconds on the potatoes rather than the Brussels sprouts, but overall I still consider the dish a success. 

The recipe does call for a brown sugar/red wine vinegar reduction as a sauce, but I wasn't feeling very saucy so we skipped it. The acid very well may have made people go back for seconds, so if you are feeling saucy, give it a try!

How could you possibly say no?

VERDICT:

They-were-good-but-I-don't-want-the-recipe: 2 votes

I-want-the-recipe: 1 vote

Add-bacon: 2 votes

I'll-be-making-these-again: 1 vote

Go check out what Tabitha cooked up this week at Double the Garlic!