Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cabbage and Pine Nuts
If you are hesitant about Brussels Sprouts, please don’t be. This combination of sprouts, cabbage and pine nuts is insanely delicious!
It is the season for Brussels sprouts and I wanted to revisit this amazing dish that I first posted a couple of years ago; it was my first foray into trying sprouts again after avoiding them like the plague for years. Brussels sprouts have seen an upsurge in popularity the past few years and this remains my favorite way of serving them.
Worthy of a holiday side dish I promise…something old really is new again! I’m betting many of us can vividly recall the olive green mushy vegetable that forced us to remain seated at the dinner table longer than we liked because we would suffer almost any punishment before eating those dreaded sprouts.
Forerunners to modern Brussels sprouts were likely cultivated in ancient Rome and Brussels sprouts as we now know them were grown possibly as early as the 13th century in what is now Brussels, Belgium (hence their name). During the 16th century, they enjoyed a popularity in the southern Netherlands that eventually spread throughout the cooler parts of Northern Europe and eventually they made their way to our homes (if not our hearts).
I’ve seen post after post waxing poetic over Brussels sprouts; with a revitalized knowledge of proper preparation; i.e. not cooking them to death, they have become popular once again. Look how beautiful and adorable they are…they deserve so much more than being boiled to death!
It seems our parents only knew to cook the life out of all things broccoli, cauliflower, peas and cabbage and I long ago realized that proper preparation made all the difference. So when I saw a fresh bunch of Brussels Sprouts at the market a couple of years ago, I knew the time had come. Prophetically that same day I received an issue of Food and Wine magazine with this recipe in the Trendspotting section and it seemed perfect.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts are combined with red cabbage and adorned with a sweet/savory dressing, pine nuts and dried cranberries; it seemed the perfect foray for my determination to try, try again.
You know how sometimes something you think sounds good turns out so perfect for you. So perfect you eat half of your finished dish for dinner and greedily consume the rest the next day for lunch with nary a photo in site. It’s true…I did it, but luckily I had only made half of the recipe so was happy to relive the experience again. I loved this. A lot.
PIN ‘Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cabbage and Pine Nuts’
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cabbage and Pine Nuts
Ingredients
- ½ cup pine nuts
- 1 pound brussels sprouts quartered
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon pure chile powder such as ancho
- 1 ½ pounds red cabbage very thinly sliced on a mandoline (6 cups)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese thinly shaved
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°. Spread the pine nuts in a pie plate and toast for about 3 minutes, until golden brown. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the brussels sprouts with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Roast for about 15 minutes, until the brussels sprouts are lightly caramelized and tender.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice with the honey, mustard, cayenne and chile powder. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- In a large bowl, toss the cabbage with the toasted pine nuts and cranberries. In a small skillet, heat the remaining olive oil. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat until golden, about 1 minute. Scrape the garlic and hot oil over the cabbage. Add the brussels sprouts and toss, then add the dressing and toss again. Scatter the cheese shavings over the top and serve right away.
I love the addition of chile to your recipe. This is truly a creative brussels sprouts dish – perfect for the holidays!
This sounds wonderful! I love the cranberry and cabbage addition! I too grew up with olive green, mushy Brussels, gosh they were awful! This is a wonderful sprout recipe, I must try it!
This dish is SO good Jayne, sort of surprising really but everything pairs so wonderfully with each other; you must try it!
I love it when it’s crunchy – almost like a warm salad full of flavor.
I love this twist on Brussels sprouts! To those who don’t like them, thanks for leaving more for me. 🙂
That did make me chuckle…good way of thinking about it Claire!
So delicious looking that my Peter might even eat this Barbara, xo
Always worth a try right? It’s got a bit of a sweet component which balances nicely with the sprouts. DO IT! 🙂
I used to loathe Brussels sprouts when I was a kid. And that was on a good day. 😉 Now? One of my favorites! Roasting is one of the best ways to prepare them, IMO. The dehydrate somewhat in the oven, and their flavor becomes sweeter and more intense. Good stuff! Thanks for this.
Most people I know feel exactly that same way; I’ve even been responsible for some converts after I converted myself! For me roasting is the only way…even the slightest amount of cooking in liquid takes away that part I love; not just the sweetness and intensity but a bit of crunch too!
The only way I will eat brussel sprouts is by rousting them. This looks like a great new side dish.
This really looks and sounds delicious, and is making me LONG for the days when I can eat normally again!! I will make this baby like it! heehehe. Pinning for later! xoxo
Hopefully that will be very soon. Boy…marriage and baby, bada boom, bada bing huh? How life has changed since, um, that jerk guy? 🙂 I knew it would get better and boy has it! XOXO
Bada Bing bada boom is right!! hahahhahaha, no time wasted here!!! hehehe and oh were you ever so right!!! Life is wonderful for me and Jr is, well, probably miserable in his own life!! Best decision I ever made! You were right on all county!! xoxoxo <3 🙂
I could say something like ‘Mama said.’ but you already know it. No one who makes us unhappy is the person we are meant to be with. Only wish I knew that wisdom before I married the man I did. How did you think I got so wise anyhow? Cause I went through it! Can not wait for that baby!!
so pretty and I’m sure equally delicious!!!
This was my ‘Brussels sprouts moment.’ I had tried them roasted and they were a far cry form those mushy horrible things of my childhood but this dish? I think I just ate a big bowl of the them for dinner. Nothing else. SO good.
Oh my goodness… this looks so delicious!
It is fabulous Kristen…even if I may have to omit pine nuts soon…I’m not used to sprinkling gold over vegetables. Last time I was at Costco they were $25 a bag…ouch!
I will try this out. I love all the ingredients.
I adore brussels sprouts (as long as they aren’t boiled mush) and especially when they are roasted with bacon! This looks like a great way to modernize a classic veggie!
I think I’m trying roasted with garlic and bacon next. Funny how they’ve become my new favorite after all those years of ignoring the poor little guys.
Yum! I have some purple cabbage hanging out in my fridge that I couldn’t figure out what to do with. Now I know 🙂
this looks wonderful I used red cabbage last week great color
I am a big Brussels sprouts fan, and the way you have handled them here should bring even the doubters to the table. GREG
And I was the biggest doubter. That roasting business makes all the difference. Not just in texture but I do love them more when they keep a bright green color.
Saw this recipe too and thought ” I’ve got to make this” .. now with your ringing endorsement this is now a “must make and soon” item!! I bet it would be terrific with a good roast chicken and potatoes. Wow, it sure is making the salad I am having for dinner pale by comparison!!
You do need to…just loved it. Enough that is was my lunch and dinner two days in a row!
This salad looks wonderful! I have a few brussel sprouts recipes that I want to try and this will be one of them!
I just had a salad at a restaurant last week that was all brussel sprout leaves plus bacon and a light vinaigrette. It was really good and nobody would ever guess it was brussel sprouts- it looked like salad greens. Yum!
Me too…more recipes I want to try that is!
Gosh, I’ve never liked brussels sprouts. After seeing this pic I’m wondering if I just haven’t had the right recipe.
I think the roasting is the key for me. They stay crisper and keep their bright green color so both visually and texturally it made such a difference. The sweet/hot dressing didn’t hurt either…though really not much heat; I might actually increase that a bit next time!
I’ll have a serving or five, please. 🙂
I only had four. Lunch and dinner one day followed by lunch and dinner the next. Nothing else; just a big helping of this!
Almost any vegetable gets wonderfully transformed through roasting. This is how I often get my kids to eat them. Sorry to say that, but Brussels Sprouts are still not high on our list. We talked about it one day and decided that it is maybe the same phenomena like with Cilantro (which I love and my daughter thinks it tastes like soap). It just tastes wrong to some of our taste buds.
The cabbage let’s my German heard beat faster!
Thanks again for hosting on Saturday. I enjoyed it a lot.
Brussels sprouts were definitely abused by our parents and I am happy to see them coming back under different circumstances! I have found a way to cook them that is wonderful. This recipe looks delicious, too. Even the hubs is eating Brussels Sprouts now, so it will be nice to have another option to try out on him.