Better Brussels Sprouts
How to fix up a maligned Thanksgiving side
Hello AT subscribers,
Thanks for your patience as I took a few weeks off to wrangle with a bout of covid. I’m back now and the first order of business is, of course, the looming specter of Thanksgiving.
I like Thanksgiving as much as any food-obsessed home cook; it is the marquee occasion to engage in a ridiculous volume of home-cookery, after all. But I maintain that it’s not so ideal from a recipe-development perspective. For one, everyone has done everything before. Normally this doesn’t phase me — anybody ever heard of Bolognese? — but Thanksgiving is particularly well-trod, and in my opinion, the dishes are always more enjoyable when they stick to the script. For another, our feeds and inboxes are absolutely saturated with exhortations to dry-brine and which crusty country loaf is best for stuffing. I’ll leave that to the professionals.
However, one category that I’d like to pipe up on ahead of the big day is Brussels sprouts. Pity the Brussels sprout for being more abused and maligned than just about any other vegetable. At this point I think almost everybody knows to swear off boiling them into an odiferous mess, but I’m not too keen on baking or broiling them into oblivion, either. Better to shock-fry them in fat for just a minute or so, keeping them green and cruciferous with just a tinge of char.
This sprouts recipe does just that and adds some supporting players, as well: lots of bacon (ideal for the aforementioned fat), blackened onions, sourdough croutons and fish sauce. Feel free to take liberties; you can leave out the croutons if they compete too vigorously with stuffing and dinner rolls, or add a liberal grating of Parmigiano. There is only one key, and that is singeing the Brussels sprouts with a light touch.
Fried Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Croutons, and Charred Onions
Ingredients
3 cups Brussels sprouts, any browning edges removed and chopped lengthwise into thin slices
3-4 strips of thick-cut smoked bacon, cut into large chunks
1-2 cups sourdough bread torn into medium chunks
1 large Spanish onion, outer skin removed, cut into 1-inch wedges with the core intact
3/4 tablespoon of fish sauce
A few pinches of fennel pollen (optional)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss the sourdough chunks in olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a sheet tray and bake until golden brown; set aside.
Set a cast-iron pan over high heat. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and add the onions once the oil is shimmering. Cook on one side until they are moderately blackened; flip and cook them through, adding salt throughout. Add a splash of water if the pan gets too dry.
Once the onions are deeply charred but not fully caramelized, remove from the pan and set aside, covered.
Wipe out any significant reside from the onions in the pan. Set the pan over high heat. Add the bacon and cook until it is browned and crispy. Remove the bacon and set aside on a paper-towel lined plate. Keep the bacon fat in the pan.
Reheat the bacon fat until it is very hot. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook for about one minute. They should still be green and crunchy, very slightly wilted in the fat, and have some char around the edges.
In a large bowl, immediately combine the Brussels sprouts, onions, bacon, and croutons. Add salt and pepper to taste, along with the lemon juice, fish sauce, and fennel pollen. Stir to combine.