Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cabbage and Pine Nuts

Name: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cabbage and Pine Nuts
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 - 6 Servings
Ingredients: 1/2 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; 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1/2 teaspoon pure chile powder, such as ancho; 1 1/2 pounds red cabbage, very thinly sliced on a mandoline (6 cups); 1/2 cup dried cranberries; 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, thinly shaved

December 5, 2013 37 Comments

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’

Yield: 4 - 6 Servings