Simple Roasted Brussel Sprouts
If you've ever wanted to start exposing your Small Fries to Brussel sprouts, November is the month to give my simple roasted Brussel sprout recipe a spin around your dinner table! Right after Halloween, grocery purveyors like Trader Joe's start selling these tiny cabbages intact on the stalk, and from my experience, kids find these gigantic, fairy-tale-like, magical stalks intriguing, and can't help but wonder how they may transform into something they can eat on their plate.
Thanks to Trader Joe's, "Jack and the Bean Stalk" can come to life in your kitchen!
Kids love to help tear off each sprout from the stalk and investigate what these tiny cabbages look like when cut in half. For a first exposure, I keep the ingredients deceivingly simple (just salt, pepper, and fat) while paying close attention to the details like pre-roasting the sheet pan before placing each perfectly seasoned sprout cut side down to roast into crispy, tender deliciousness.
One of the first bites I give to Small Fries is the highly sought after crispy leaves that have fallen away from the sprout while cutting in half because they almost taste like crispy potato chips! Once kids can begin to accept those bites as yummy, enjoying the entire sprout isn't as far fetched as you may have first thought!
Ingredients
1 stalk brussel sprouts (use about 20 spouts off the stalk)
1 tbsp bacon fat (or substitute an additional tablespoon of olive oil)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp diamond crystal Kosher salt
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1. Remove about 20 whole sprouts from the Brussel sprout stalk, or simply buy 20 sprouts at your local grocery store. Trim any dry, brown or blemished ends from each sprout, discard blemished leaves, and slice lengthwise in half.
2. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees, then place an empty baking sheet in the oven to pre-heat for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, toss Brussel sprouts in bacon fat, olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Pull out hot sheet pan from the oven, and arrange Brussel sprouts cut side down and roast for 30-40 minutes (depending on size) till crispy golden and delicious. Serve immediately, and sprinkle additional salt if you like them like french fries.
