Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are a weird vegetable.  They kind of look like mini-heads, which kind of makes them creepy to think about eating.  And they're something I have no idea what to do with on my own.  Most other vegetables (broccoli, green beans, cauliflower), I can at least steam and season and know what to expect.  But I've never cooked brussels sprouts, and I don't recall eating them very often (if ever) during my childhood.

Then I started discovering some brussels sprouts recipes in my internet searches, and they sort of started to occupy my brain.  I started to crave brussels sprouts.  How often do you hear that?  I found a few recipes that I thought would make a great Thanksgiving Day side dish, but I couldn't really figure out how to reasonably get cooked anything from Cincinnati to Michigan in one non-spoiled piece.  Turns out, my aunt made some brussels sprouts for Thanksgiving Day.  And they were awesome.

Now since I knew I liked brussels sprouts (despite their weirdness - and they are still weird), I really knew I had to try a recipe or two of my own.   First attempt coming up!

Recipe: (from How Sweet It Is)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound (about 3-4 cups) brussels sprouts, stems cut off and halved
2 shallots, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Heat a small skillet over low heat, and add pecans.  Toast for 4-5 minutes, gently stirring and shaking the pan every 30-60 seconds so that the pecans don't burn.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil.  Add shallots and garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.

Add in brussels sprouts, salt, and pepper, and cook for 8-10 minutes, tossing every so often, until brussels sprouts are browned.

While brussels sprouts are cooking, heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add butter.

Whisk fairly continuously until butter is golden and brown flecks appear.  Remove from heat.

Remove brussels from heat once finished and toss in pecans.  Drizzle butter over brussles sprouts and serve.

Verdict :
Well, not as good as the Thanksgiving Day casserole (in my opinion) but not bad.  I liked the addition of the pecans - something I wouldn't have thought of on my own...  And there are lots leftover, so I've been enjoying them in my oatmeal since!  I very rarely cook vegetables in any sort of butte and get extremely annoyed when restaurants ruin a healthful side dish by soaking it in butter, but this small amount of butter added a good flavor that was not overly buttery.  I cooked them for a bit longer than the suggested time, and they still seemed like they could have been cooked longer.  I'm not an expert on cooking brussels sprouts though.  And it could likely be my funky stove...  Plus after looking back at the original blog post, I noticed that they appeared to have been roasted in a cast iron skillet.  I'm thinking I need to get me one of those....  My kitchen is going to burst soon with all the different pots and pans that I 'need,' but we'll only be here for a few more months, right...?

Definitely worth eating again.  And I've found a new vegetable to love exploring and finding new recipes!