Three ways with Brussels sprouts

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awards, brussels sprouts, brussels sprouts fritters, brussels sprouts recipes, recipes, vegetables, vegetarian, vegetarian recipes

I’ve eaten Brussels sprouts maybe twice in my life, or thrice (is that still a word?). Okay, honestly, in all likelihood, I’ve probably eaten them more times than that, but I was just trying to stress how infrequently Brussels sprouts figure in my diet. Plus I wanted to say thrice.

Why I never thought about cooking and serving Brussels sprouts, I have no idea. It’s not like me to ignore cute, baby cabbages. Cute babies usually have a way of attracting my attention. Brussels sprouts, however, didn’t exactly pique my interest. My thought on them ran like this,”These are not as good as cabbage, these are bitter, and I wouldn’t know what to do with them.” Along those lines, pretty much.

But they’re everywhere right now, and I see that every blogger has done at least a recipe or two featuring them. A quick online research also reveals that they’re highly nutritional, more so than cabbage. In short, it’s time for me to put aside old, unfounded perceptions about the vegetable, and rise up to the challenge. Of coming up with clever ways to serve Brussels sprouts that the family, specifically the children, will appreciate.

Remember my motto? When in doubt, always baconize or fritterize. Well, apparently, I’ve found a third way. Thoranize. Let me show you.

Creamy Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
2 cups Brussels sprouts, sliced thinly
5 strips of bacon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup light cream or half & half
Grated Parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper

1. Blanch Brussels sprouts in boiling water briefly, drain, set aside. This is an optional step. I was just trying to make the dish more son-friendly.
2. Cut bacon into small pieces, then fry until crisp. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Sauté garlic in olive oil until fragrant, add sprouts, salt & pepper, and cook until Brussels sprouts are tender. If you didn’t blanch the sprouts, you may need to add a little water/stock.
4. Add bacon pieces, cream, and stir to mix.
5. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese.
6. Served with spaghetti or any pasta.

Brussels Sprouts Fritters
Follow the recipe for Onion Bhajis to make these. In place of the onions, use a mix of shredded Brussels sprouts and some chopped onion.

Brussels Sprouts Thoran
Cut the sprouts into quarters, and blanch them briefly. Then, follow my recipe for Turnip Leaves Thoran. I still think this is one of the most interesting and delicious ways of preparing vegetables. I would wager that very few vegetables wouldn’t improve served this way.

So there you have it, folks, the baconized, fritterized, and thoranized Brussels sprouts. All are worthy of being repeated at least thrice while Brussels sprouts are in season right now. Next year, Brussels sprouts will make their appearance in my garden, now that I know the family eats them without complaint.

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