WEEK 20: YOUR BEST BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Grilled Brussels Sprouts

Photography by Sarah Shatz

    BY KITCHENWITCHCOOKIE | SERVES 2 AS A SIDE DISH

A&M: We were drawn to this recipe because it approaches Brussels sprouts in a way we’d never tried before. “My husband turned me into a huge Brussels sprouts fan with this recipe,” said kitchenwitchcookie. “He varies it a little each time, but the result is always delicious.” First you blanch the sprouts in boiling salted water, and then you coat them in a mixture of olive oil, celery salt, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper before charring them lightly on the grill. Another toss in the seasoned oil, and they’re ready to eat. Grilling the Brussels sprouts gives them some smokiness and really wakes up the flavors in the onion and garlic powders.

    12 small to medium Brussels sprouts

    2 tablespoons olive oil

    Kosher salt

    ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper

    ½ teaspoon onion powder

    ½ teaspoon garlic powder

    ½ teaspoon celery salt

    1 handful cooked, crumbled bacon (optional)

    1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)

    1 tablespoon grated Parmesan (optional)

1. Heat the grill so that it’s nice and hot.
2. To clean the sprouts, trim the cut ends back without interfering with the leaves and peel any withered leaves off the bulbs. Score the bottoms; one cut will suffice.
3. Blanch the sprouts in boiling, salted water for no more than 5 minutes. No more!
4. Drain the sprouts and place them in a medium bowl. Drizzle them with oil and add 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and celery salt. Toss them well to coat.
5. Grill the sprouts for 12 minutes, turning every 4 minutes or so, until well browned on the tips. Return them to the seasoning bowl and toss to coat with any remaining seasoning.
6. If desired, add any or all of the optional ingredients (bacon, lemon zest, and Parmesan).

Photography by Sarah Shatz

    TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

    Of the optional ingredients, we chose to add only the lemon zest and really liked the extra bit of perfume. The choice is yours!

        Kitchenwitchcookie rightly insists that you blanch the sprouts for no more than 5 minutes—if you like your sprouts a bit firm, as we do, you can get away with a minute or two less.

        If you don’t have an outdoor grill (or if you’re making these in the dead of winter), a grill pan will work just fine.

        Menumaniac: “I like to put them on skewers to grill; it makes it easier to turn them.”

    ABOUT THE COOK

    Casey Benedict-Pendergast is a blogger living in Malvern, Pennsylvania. She launched Kitchen Witch, a business selling ready-to-bake cookies and other sweets, after growing weary of the ingredients in processed foods. Here’s the website: www.kitchenwitchcookie.com.

        Her favorite entertaining tip: “Keep it simple and write out your menu to refer to while you’re prepping and during your party.”

    WHAT THE COMMUNITY SAID

    Meg226: “I made these for Thanksgiving dinner and managed to break my mom’s thirty-plus-year refusal to eat Brussels sprouts. They were wonderful! Quite possibly one of my new favorite foods. Thanks!”

        MrsWheelbarrow: “I just made what I thought would be enough Brussels sprouts for the two of us. It took great restraint to share. Fantastic recipe.”