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INGREDIENTIA: On Learning How To Make Brussel Sprouts Better Than Your Mom Can

by Claire Lassam | I’m going to go out on a limb and say that at least half of the people reading this ate brussel sprouts on Christmas dinner. I’m going to take that further and guess that 90% of those hapless cabbage eaters hated everything about them. The bitter flavour and the over-cooked texture, the sulphury smell…yuck. You probably made fun of your mom for it, but you probably ate them to be kind, thinking “at least there won’t be any more brussel sprouts for another year”, and then moved on with your life.

I didn’t. I ate brussel sprouts sauteed with pancetta and chestnuts and just the tiniest bit of apple cider vinaeger. I fell in love with brussel sprouts, the way I do every time whenever I eat them when they’re prepared with a little TLC.

You see, brussel sprouts can be fantastic if you just give them the chance, which is not all that surprising when you think about it. Most things that have stayed in near constant rotation for hundreds of years pretty much have to be good. They were first known to have been cultivated in the 13th century in Belgium (hence the name) and, because they grow in fairly cool temperatures, they became popular in many Nordic countries throughout the 1500’s as well. Brussel sprouts started being farmed in the Americas in the 18th century, but it wasn’t until the 1940’s when they came to California that the industry really took off. Currently, farmers in the USA alone profit over $27 million a year from Brussel Sprouts sales, producing nearly 32,000 tonnes of the little cabbages per annum. The Netherlands almost triples that with 86,000 tonnes. Interestingly, England grows nearly as much but doesn’t export almost any. I, for one, think that the English are they’re on to something.

But don’t just take my word for it. They’ve been popping up on menus all over town, like the warmed brussel sprout salad with squash that was recently served with scallops at Boneta in Gastown. At Edible at the Market on Granville Island, they were just panning them up with chorizo sausage and caramelized onions. But how to make them at home? This is my favourite way to do it…

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta and Chestnuts

6 Italian Chestnuts
100g Pancetta, thickly sliced. And then cut again into thin rectangles.
3 cups of Brussel Sprouts.
2 Shallots, peeled and sliced.
2 tbsp Butter
1tsp Apple Cider Vinegar.
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Preheat your oven to 375F

With a small paring knife carefully slice an X into the flat side of each chestnut.

Put them on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until the skins of the chestnuts curl up and you can see the slightly browned flesh underneath.

Pull them out of the oven, turn the oven off, and let the nuts cool for a few minutes. Once you can touch them without scalding your skin off peel them, the shell and the skin that can sometimes stick to the flesh a bit (Italian chestnuts will stick less then ones from China). Now dice them up.

Trim the brussel sprouts- chop off the dried out bottom and peel back the first few layers of if they’re brown or dry. Basically you want a lovely little bright green cabbage. Cut them in half lengthways.

In a medium frying pan melt your butter and cook the pancetta until it’s just beginning to crisp.

Add the shallots and the chestnuts and let the shallots soften and the chesnuts to become a nice golden brown.

Add the brussel sprouts and cook for about 3-4 minutes more until they start to caramelize on the edges but are still crisp.

Season with salt pepper and vinegar, and you’re done.

PHOTOS: Brussel sprouts (via Farmanac), Boneta and Edible At The Market

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Claire Lassam is a baker, blogger, and freelance writer based in East Van. She has been cooking and baking her way through the city for nearly five years, working in restaurants ranging from Cioppino’s to Meat & Bread. She currently toils at Beta 5 Chocolate and runs the baking blog  Just Something Pretty.

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