I found a recipe for braised brussels sprouts in Fast, Fresh & Green (shout out to my roommie Ang: Thanks for the great book, help yourself to the leftovers!) My rendition was neither fast nor fresh but it is green. The brussels sprouts I picked up (last Monday) were not local, they came all the way from Castroville CA, so one can only guess when they died by harvest. They have been decaying away in my fridge for a week, so its possible they lost some of their nutritional bang. Maybe I am just a slow cook, but it took me about fifty minutes to make this dish. I don't consider 50 minutes to be very fast. They did turn out wonderfully, I am enjoying them more than the roasted with salt version I made last time. (Could it be the 2.5 tablespoons of butter I used?)
I melted butter with some olive oil in a pan, then arranged the brussels sprouts (cut in half) single layer cut-side down. Added some salt. Then cooked them for about 5 minutes until they were browned. Then added some chicken stock, simmered until it reduced down, then added more butter, freshly minced garlic and ginger and finished it off with juice from half a lime.
Garlic ginger lime on Brussels sprouts huh. Sounds & looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteSince you mention butter, I have to share this blurb from Anthony Bordain's Kitchen Confidential. It's a really good read.
ReplyDeleteFrom chapter How to Cook Like the Pros
Butter. I don't care what they tell you they're putting or not putting in your food at your favorite restaurant; chances are, you're eating a ton of butter. In a professional kitchen, it's almost always the frist and last thing in the pan. We saute in a mixture of butter and oil for that nice brown, caramelized color, and we finish nearly every sauce with it (we call this monter au beurre); that's why my sauce tastes richer and creamier and mellower than yours, why it's got that nice, thick, opaque consistency. Believe me, there's a big crock of softened butter on almost every cook's station, and it's getting a heavy workout. Margarine? That's not food. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter? I can. If you're planning on using margarine in ANYTHING, you can stop reading now, because I won't be able to help you. Even the Italians--you know, those crafty Tuscans--spout off about getting away from butter and extol the glories of olive oil (and it is glorious), but pay a surprise visit to the kitchen of that three-star Northern Italian, and what's that they're sneaking into the pasta? And the risotto? The veal chop? Could it be? Is it...why, I can't believe is IS butter!!