5 Ingredients or Fewer
by: Marian Bull
April13,2021
4.8
4 Ratings
- Prep time 15 minutes
- Cook time 40 minutes
- Serves 2
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Author Notes
Adapted from Mollie Katzen's "The Heart of the Plate." —Marian Bull
- Test Kitchen-Approved
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- 1/2 poundmedium-sized Brussels sprouts, quartered
- 2 tablespoonsto 3 extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cupfinely diced onion
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 pinchsalt, to taste
Directions
- Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Blanch your Brussels sprouts for 30 seconds, drain, and dry thoroughly.
- The key to getting a good char on your Brussels sprouts is making sure they don't crowd. If you're working with a large pan (e.g. a 10-inch cast iron skillet), cook them all at once. If your pan is smaller, fry in two batches. Heat oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add one sprout, cut-side down; if it begins to sizzle immediately, add the rest. You want most of them to land cut-side down, but don't drive yourself crazy.
- Let your sprouts cook, untouched, for a minute or so, and then check them. If they're white or light brown on the bottom, let them cook a bit more. You want to wait to flip them until they are charred and almost black. Once they are, flip to the other side, and wait for side two to cook until crispy. Add salt, toss a few times, then move them all to the edge of the pan.
- Add your onion (or half of the onion, if you're working in batches) to the pan. If it looks very dry, add a touch more oil. If you're worried about them burning, turn the heat down a bit. Let them cook for a minute or two, stirring lightly, until they soften slightly.
- Toss onions and sprouts together; let them cook for 30 more seconds. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, allow everything to steam for a moment, and then you're done! Taste for salt. Fry your second batch now, if it's still waiting for you.
- Note: These taste great at any temperature, so don't stress about timing.
Tags:
- American
- Brussel Sprouts
- Vegetable
- Fry
- Cast Iron
- 5 Ingredients or Fewer
- Fall
- Vegetarian
- Side
See what other Food52ers are saying.
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Courtney C
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Adelucchi
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Bluejade
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chris
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Sietske van Schaik
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19 Reviews
Courtney C. December 20, 2015
This was a great preparation - simple and delicious. I was a bit lazy and just halved the sprouts, but it came out just fine.
kathryn November 20, 2015
You don't need to be this complicated. A simplier and more delicious recipe is: clean Brussels sprouts and cut off the bottom stem. Lay them on e shallow baking dish and spoon on a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Salt and pepper them. Mix this up with your (clean)hands so that all sprouts are coated. Bake at 400 - 425 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, until they start to brown on the outside and are at the level of tenderness that you like. Then eat them !!! YUM !!!
EACross November 19, 2015
I thought I was the only one who cooked them stove top so I could char them! My sister uses the oven.
For more heaven, add some garlic and bacon crumbles toward the end. Also: sprinkle with grated parmesan. You won't be sorry!!!
Adelucchi January 13, 2015
DELICIOUS!!!! Want to try with a vinegarette! Thanks Marion for a great recipe!
Mollie is one of my faves.
Bluejade December 7, 2014
I am now combining this recipe with AntoniaJames comments here. I brined the brussel sprouts. Then oven roasted at 425 for 15 - 20 minutes. (I also usually have something else in the oven.) Finally, I sautéed the brussel sprouts in olive oil for a few minutes to make sure they're crisp. The brining does keep them greener and sweeter, but adds a lot of water. We kind of like really crisp vegetables at my house, so the extra step makes a difference.
chris September 9, 2014
When did y'all start checking for doneness, in a 425 degree oven? I'm guessing maybe 15 minutes, for al dente.
Sietske V. January 5, 2014
Forget the olive oil, bacon grease all the way ;-)
Robert V. October 28, 2013
Fantastic recipe! I make two batches for family dinner: one as is, and the other with cooked mushroom slices included. I cook the mushrooms separately with a toss of dry sherry, drain, then add the last five minutes of cooking. Even Brussels Sprout "haters" like this recipe.
Carl J. October 27, 2013
Thanks for the recipe. I usually blanch and serve with a lime aioli.
AntoniaJames October 24, 2013
These were delicious, by the way (especially the ones that I brined instead of parboiled -- really moist but not mushy -- and almost sweet). I wasn't crazy though about how the lemon juice dulled the color of the the Brussels sprouts after about 15 minutes, so I recommend holding off until just before serving to squeeze the lemon juice over these. ;o)
AntoniaJames October 22, 2013
Just to circle back on this . . . I did a side-by-side comparison, parboiling half (and I actually cut each Brussels sprout in half, putting one half in one pile and the other in the second pile) and for the other half, using my favorite secret weapon for eggplant and zucchini, which can leave a bitter aftertaste: I brine them, cut, for 5 - 10 minutes before cooking. (This is a tip I first read about, years ago, in my ancient -- circa 1941 -- edition of The Joy of Cooking. I cannot remember for which vegetable Mrs. Rombauer suggests brining (in fact, it may be Brussels sprouts!), but I do know that the light salt water bath works miracles on the structural integrity of eggplant while cooking, and is a lot easier/reliable than salting and draining. But I digress.) The end result: brining produced a sweeter cooked Brussels sprout, and is easier, than parboiling. ;o) I'll post this to the comments in the recipe as well.
souptastic November 4, 2013
AntoniaJames, what's your preferred brining protocol? How much salt and how long? Then followed by a good rinse in the colander after, or a full soak in fresh water? I will check what my Joy says.
AntoniaJames November 13, 2013
ascherl, sorry for the delay here. Mrs Rombauer says to brine in cold water to which "a little salt" has been added, for 12 minutes. Mine usually sit in the brine quite a bit longer than that. It doesn't seem to matter whether it's a few minutes or even as long as an hour. Just out of curiosity, and because I have a few extra minutes before I need to go into the office today, I prepped about 3/4 of a pound for dinner tonight, which are now in the fridge. I added about a scant teaspoon of coarse Korean salt to 3 cups of water (dissolving first in 1/4 cup of warm water). I'll let you know how they turn out! ;o)
AntoniaJames November 16, 2013
asheri, just to follow up on my last post: I brined the halved Brussels sprouts for about 10 hours (put them in at breakfast time, cooked them at dinner). I roasted them after lightly patting dry -- there were still quite a few drops of moisture but I didn't worry about them -- and then roasted them without additional salt in a hot oven, 425 degrees, on a lightly oiled pan. They were a spectacular success. The centers were a touch firm, but the outsides not at all mushy, and not the slightest touch of bitterness. They remained a brilliant green, even when fully cooked (thanks to the brine). I'm making another batch tonight. ;o)
souptastic November 18, 2013
Hi AntoniaJames, thanks for taking the time to follow up. I've made a few batches of dutch-oven roasted brined sprouts and I will never go back to mushy over-roasting again. Will try your oven method since I much prefer it to the stove top.
Mike V. October 18, 2013
I love making them like this, but I add pancetta. :)
AntoniaJames October 17, 2013
When preparing Brusslies on top of the stove, I always give them an interim steam, simply by putting the lid on and cooking on very low heat for about 2 minutes after they've started to caramelize well but before flipping over to complete the browning/crisping. It works great. I'll have to do a side-by-side comparison to see if the blanching step is worth it. ;o)
LauriL October 25, 2013
Glad to have all of your shared experience Antonia as I'm visiting California and making the freshest BS I've ever seen!!
Sunnycovechef October 16, 2013
This sounds great, leave it to Mollie Katzen. It looks especially good with the polenta.
