Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts | Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Cranberry & Almonds

 

27 December

Hello everyone. Christmas is just over. This time it was a very muted Christmas day across the city due to the covid restrictions. I just went out with a friend for a movie and a lunch. Guess which movie? Tenet. I know some of you might be already wondering how can I see Tenet on a Christmas day, but ya that movie was on the cards for a while and this is the only common holiday we both had. So Tenet it was! Later on we thought of grabbing a Christmas lunch somewhere but most of the places were taking people on a pre-booking basis and the ones which didn't were darn expensive. We could have done expensive too, but since the menus claimed they were serving turkey, and I have had experience when a turkey is not cooked well they are super dry, I was apprehensive in shelling out a grotesque amount only to be disappointed by the taste. Thus we decided to walk the safe path and headed to our tried and tested Malaka Spice in Koregaon Park. They didn't have a Christmas brunch as such but we enjoyed the pan Asian stuffs that are typical to the place. The best thing comes at the end of the food - a cold piece of rum cake soaked in rum and dry fruits which is absolutely ah-mazing. If you haven't been to their place on a Christmas day try visiting just for this piece of cake!

Post lunch we walked down to Natures Basket which is like at a stone throw distance from Malaka Spice. When ever I am in KP I do try to visit Natures basket just to grab some duck eggs. I do not get duck eggs in the part of the town where I live and I love duck eggs. This time I didn't get the eggs, however I got a bunch of other interesting stuffs from there. A beautiful chilli herbed sourdough bread, some cinnamon rolls, a few sauces and a packet of brussels sprouts. They looked so good I couldn't not take the brussels. From quite a few weeks I was deliberating in making a sautéed brussels sprout side and these looked just perfect. I also had a post Christmas day brunch to make, wherein one of the components I wanted to be these roasted brussels.

Pan roasted Brussels sprouts are also called pan fried Brussels sprouts, sautéed Brussels sprouts or pan sautéed Brussels sprouts - and all of them are basically the same. It is the process in which the delicate brussels sprouts are cooked in a fat medium over high heat. The best part about this recipe is that the ingredients are pantry staple - something you would already have at hand, recipe is very simple and the final taste is absolutely exceptional, buttery, flavorful and yet crisp.

Adding the nuts and cranberries give it a lovely crunchy Christmassy texture and pops in a little oomph factor into the simple dish.

Now when you try to get access to quality fruits like blueberry or cranberry it might happen that you don't get them year long. I have come across a brand True Elements which sells a lovely quality of dried blueberry, goji berries and cranberry which you can have as is or use in any of your recipe. They also have a plethora of healthy seeds and breakfast option. I have used the dried cranberries from them in this recipe and I really loved the taste. You can buy them from their site or even from Amazon. This is not a promotional post, since I really loved them I thought of again mentioning them.

Meanwhile the beautiful diary that you see in the frame is from the June Shop. I stumbled upon their website nearly at the beginning of the lockdown period and found a lovely set of spoons which I had purchased. Who ever saw that set would compliment me. It has been a long way from then and this brand grew wonderfully with so many amazing products on their catalog. Recently they were generous enough to send me this lovely name embossed diary to me as a gratitude gift. It was so unexpected that they would value and acknowledge me as their customer and I felt just amazing. So thank you The June shop for this lovely gift!

How to clean and cut brussels sprouts?

To clean the brussels sprouts, trim the ends (the hard parts if any). Most store-bought Brussels will have the stem mostly trimmed off, but if you want to really make sure there aren't any woody parts, take a sharp knife and just cut off the bottom hard part of the sprout.

Rinse them in a large bowl of cold water. (Try not to put under running water, as the brussels sprouts are tender and the leaves may come apart due to water pressure). Brussels sprouts do not usually have much dirt on them, but any dust or sediment should float to the bottom.

Once washed place them on a kitchen towel in a single layer and cover them with the towel and pat dry them as much possible.  

Once dry, for this recipe you need to halve or quarter them depending on the size. Since I had small ones I halved them. (Also they look better halved).

Check Out the DIY Background I made for this shoot.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes  

Marination Time : 30 minutes (Optional)

Cooking Time: 10 minutes 

Serves: 1 to 2 adults

Ingredients:

• Brussels Sprouts - 100 gm 
• Crushed Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Garlic - 3-4 cloves
• Nuts (Almonds/Pine nuts/ walnuts/ pecans ) - handful, chopped
• Dried Cranberry - 1 handful
• Paprika/ Red chilli powder - 1/4 th tsp
• Chilli flakes - 1/4 tsp
• Refined/ Olive Oil 
• Salt - as per taste

Equipment:

• Heavy bottomed pan (preferably cast iron)
• Knife
• Bowl

Procedure 

1. Start by prepping the brussels Sprouts as mentioned above. Now after this I like to marinate them a bit. Take a mixing bowl and put the halved brussels sprouts. Add salt, paprika, chilli flakes, crushed pepper and 1 tsp of olive oil. Give it a toss so as to coat the brussels sprouts with the spices. Let them sit for about 30 minutes. This is optional. You can straightaway go for cooking too.

2. Now in a heavy bottomed pan add oil. When it starts to sizzle a bit, add chopped garlic. fry them till golden and then drain the garlic and put it aside.

3. The oil in the pan will now be infused with a lovely garlicky flavor. Now crank up the heat if the oil is not hot. Then place the marinated brussels sprouts cut side down in a single layer on the pan. 

4. Cook until the brussels are deep , dark, golden brown on the face down. Then flip them and let the other side also get a beautiful caramelized sear in same way.

Note: Brussels are very delicate once they are cooked, so when you flip be gentle. I have heard chefs even use a tweezer to flip them in restaurants. That's how delicate they become!

5. Once both the sides are evenly caramelized take them out form the pan. Not to the remaining oil, add the chopped nuts and dried cranberry. Toss them until nuts are fragrant on medium flame. Now return the cooked sprouts pack to the pan. Add also the fried garlic and gently fold everything in.

Note: I used almonds in this recipe with skin on. I feel some nuts with skin on tastes better. Almond is one of them. But you can always take the skin off if you want.

 

Serve hot along with your meal.