Roasted Brussels sprouts

“I’m buying these because I hate them,” I said, as I bagged up a pound of Brussels sprouts at Wegman’s (aka best grocery store ever but not in NYC). “Not sure what I’m going to do with them but wish me luck!”

I’m not sure why I never had a taste for this small, cabbage-like vegetable. But I never liked them.

Not too long ago, while dining at Recette with Robyn, and there were 5 Brussels sprouts on my plate. I could only stomach 2 of them before giving the rest to her, since there is no point in wasting food.

So what made me give Brussels sprouts another chance?

I’m a firm believer in revisiting food that I didn’t like before. I’m not going to lie and tell you that after making this, that Brussels sprouts are all I want to eat from this point on for the rest of my life. However, I enjoyed the complex flavors and would be open to trying them again.

This recipe was brought to my attention by this post from Cooking of Joy, who used David Chang’s recipe. So Joy was inspired by David Chang, who inspired me by her inspiration. Would you look at that? So much inspiration all around!

Recipe: Roasted Brussels sprouts
Adapted from David Chang’s recipe, posted on Epicurious

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons of Asian fish sauce (preferably Tiparos brand)
2 tablespoons of sugar
1.5 tablespoons of canola oil
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro stems
2 teaspoons of finely chopped mint (I used 1 teaspoon of mint extract)
1/2 of  garlic clove, minced

Procedure:

1. Heat oven to 450°F with rack in upper third.

2. Toss Brussels sprouts with oil, then arrange, cut sides down, in a 17- by 12-inch shallow baking pan. Roast, without turning, until outer leaves are tender and very dark brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Add butter and toss to coat.

3. Stir together all dressing ingredients until sugar has dissolved over very low heat.

4. Remove from oven. Put Brussels sprouts in a serving bowl, then toss with just enough dressing to coat.

It tasted good! I enjoyed the saltiness from the fish sauce, mixed with sweetness from the sugar, well as as hints of refreshing mint and cilantro buried beneath it all.

What is one vegetable that you don’t like? Maybe you can give it another shot! For example, I used to hate beets until I learned that you can roast them in the oven for an hour to produce the most sweetest vegetable I’ve ever tasted. Now you will hear me go on and on and on about how I’m a recent convert, especially when roasted beets are paired with goat cheese and walnuts (drool).