Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Oven-roasted brussels sprouts

Okay, they're not everybody's favourite vegetable... in fact, Pete has the same reaction to them that I have to aubergines (it goes something like "bleaurrrgh") but I've always liked these miniature cabbagey balls. I used to make sambar with them in India, and I've had 'em boiled here, sprinkled with salt and pepper and tossed in a little butter. Nice, for sprouts fans.

But then I came across a recipe for
oven-roasted sprouts in one of my favourite blogs Words to Eat By and decided to give that a go.

Of course, I couldnt just leave it at adding just salt and pepper - I like more zing. So I made up a spicy mix of olive oil, salt, pepper, some red chilli powder and coriander seed powder and a little mustard and whisked it all together. Tossed my halved sprouts in the mix and set it in the oven at 180C for about 30 minutes.

Well, it should have been 30 minutes, but as often happens, I got caught up in something else and nearly burnt the layers off my sprouts. Luckily they were only slightly burnt and I liked the extra outer crispiness anyway. The insides were soft - a lovely contrast. I dont really know how soft the inner portion of the sprouts should be when they are perfectly done - perhaps they shouldnt be as soft as mine got. I'll keep a closer eye on my sprouts next time. Excuse me while I go and pig out on my spicy roasted brussels sprouts... it's dinner time!

Recipe for:
Oven-roasted brussels sprouts




Ingredients:

1/2 kg brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half if too large
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp fresh ground black peppercorns
1/2 tsp mustard seeds, finely powdered

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).

2. Whisk the oil and the various powders until well amalgamated.

3. Toss the sprouts in the seasoned oil.

4. Place on greaseproof paper on a shallow baking tray, in a single layer.

5. Roast the brussels sprouts for 30 minutes or so, or till the outer layer is brown and crisp.

6. Serve hot. Yum!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oooh! They look so good. I usually have boiled sprouts with very little seasoning. This is a good way to make them. I'll give this recipe a try.

Foodlova

Mika said...

Yours look lovely, Shammi. I let them go till this point. Can you taste the coriander powder (so that I can add them next time)? Broccoli is great this way too.

Anonymous said...

I love sprouts, and am definitely trying this. Sadly, most of my friends and family (except my elderly mother) reject them totally-while liking cabbage, which is odd.
They seem to be a food one loves or loathes.
I am quite happy to eat them up all on my own,though, I must say.

Anonymous said...

Foodlova - do give it a try. You can always play around with the spices... what you use and in what proportion. I plan to try more variations myself! :)

Mika - actually the amount of coriander powder I used didnt make the taste stand out. I might add more next time, though.

Lindy - I know, it IS strange... sprouts are very much like tiny cabbages - so if you like cabbage, why not sprouts? People are strange :) I think that if my husband wont eat my roasted sprouts, there's all that much more for me!

Joe said...

Shammi - this sounds very good! I love the little sprouts!

Anonymous said...

Hey, Shammi~
I'm not ashamed to say I like Brussels sprouts and I love them spiced up. Cool looking recipe!

ammani said...

I made these yesterday. And it was brill! Thanks for the recipe.

Radha said...

Me too - I made it yesterday... YUMMY!!!

Now there's a reason to like brussels sprouts - until yesterday, I was firmly on Pete's side of the fence on this one :P

Oh, and just to clear things up - I am not overly fond of cabbage, either. :D

Anonymous said...

Wow! looks delicious. I love brussel sprouts. Check out my way of cooking it.
Thanks
-JJ

Unknown said...

Hello Sharmi! I came through another blog and I am glad to find this post (and various others too) here, as I too didnt like Brussel sprouts initially (maybe because i didnt actually know how to cook them , now i got a reason to buy it.