The Recipe
Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Pistachios, from Allrecipes.com
(I left out the pistachios, because I didn’t have any on hand)
Scare Factor
Well, for one, they’re Brussels sprouts. You don’t get much more “vegetable” than Brussels sprouts, and for whatever reason it had never even crossed my mind to try to make them. They’re about as cool as a pair of suspenders. But I think these nerdy little veggies are coming back. According to my mom, they’re the new sun-dried tomato.
In any case, there were a few firsts with this recipe for me, which made it a little intimidating. One was that, having only eaten Brussels sprouts less than three times in my life, I have never cooked them, or attempted to cook them. Another dish that I’ve never made, but had enjoyed many, many times are caramelized onions. I knew how they were supposed to look once they were done, which provided some comfort.
And one thing I didn’t own that the recipe called for was a steamer. The sprouts are supposed to be steamed in one of those little metal steaming baskets that you drop down into a pot of boiling water. They also make pots that have another pot that fits right inside the first one, but with holes so that the food can be steamed… but I don’t have one of those either.
A few things I did have
Here’s How it Really Went…
Well, first, the recipe didn’t call for washing or removing the bad leaves from the sprouts. Luckily, while browsing other recipes involving Brussels sprouts, I came across this handy tip, and I would recommend that you heed this advice. It’s easy to pick off the “bad” leaves from each sprout (and kind of gratifying, in a strange way), and while chopping off the little, hard stem did make some of the good leaves disconnect from the sprout, it was worth it. My sprouts turned out nice and soft, with no crunchy stems.
Once the sprouts were all washed and de-stemmed, I had to figure out how to “steam” them, without using any sort of steaming device. Instead of steaming the sprouts, I filled a saucepan with just a little bit of water, maybe enough to barely cover the tops of the sprouts. I brought the water to a boil, threw in the sprouts, and put the lid back on and left it there for about 8 minutes.
Here they are- boiling/"steaming" away. I took the lid off just for a second to see the nice, bright green color.
My logic was that the steam that would be trapped under the lid, and would circulate around in the pan and would “steam” the sprouts. Well, I don’t know if they ended up “steamed” or boiled (probably boiled, since they were sitting in a pot of boiling water), but they still turned out well! So, when cooking Brussels sprouts, this method proves to be as effective as steaming. Just make sure to drain them. Another tip: test to make sure they’re fully cooked by sticking one with a fork. In my opinion, there should hardly be any resistance.
One thing to be aware of, however, is that, if you don’t have an airtight lid, plumes of green tinted Brussels sprouts-scented steam will be constantly issuing from your pan, even with the lid on. I like Brussels sprouts, but this is not a pleasant smell, especially in a small kitchen, with poor ventilation. Be sure to warn your roommate first. Give her some time to escape.
Next, was on to caramelizing the onion. I began melting the butter in a pan, and chopped the onion into long strips. I used a white onion instead of a red, because this was what was in my pantry. But, I have made this recipe two times now, the second time using a red onion, and I really do think this is better. It certainly looks better (more like the classic caramelized onion), and I think it might taste better too.
Once the onion was becoming limp, and the smell of browning butter had replaced the odor of the sprouts, I gently added the sprouts to the onions (I found that cooked Brussels sprouts can be a little fragile), and added the sugar. This was where the dish all came together. I lightly stirred all of the ingredients around in the pan for a few more minutes, to coat the sprouts a little more, and that was it!
The Verdict
Was this recipe tasty? Yes, very. Even my roommate who had never tried a Brussels sprout before said, hesitantly, that she thought she liked it. I figure, it’s a way to make something that is very good for you, taste good. And that’s a good thing.
Was it as scary as I had thought? Nope! Not having any kind of steaming device didn’t hinder my cooking as much as I thought it might, and caramelizing an onion really isn’t that hard! Although I do recommend using a red onion (from my experience of caramelizing onions two whole times).
To all the novice cooks out there, I say: go for it.
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