Eat Your Veggies - Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Spanish Chorizo

Even though Brussels sprouts are the runt of the cruciferous vegetable family, these miniature cabbage pack a potent dose of vitamins C and K, as well as cancer fighting properties such as sinigrin, much like the rest of their relatives (broccoli, kale, collards, etc).

Some people despise Brussels sprouts because they've only ever eaten them boiled, which renders the beautifully nutty veggie into a dark and mushy, organic sulfur bomb.  If you fall into that category, consider this a sprout rehabilitation, as you have not really tried a Brussels sprout, but some dastardly perversion.  Not only will we keep a lot more of the nutrients and beneficial compounds of the plant by roasting, you'll  be equipped with a foolproof way of preparing delicious, sweet Brussels sprouts appropriate for casual family dinners, as well as the most formal of dining occasions.
Winter is the season for Brussels sprouts, and although I don't need anything more than a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and a hot oven to enjoy them, I like to mix things up from time to time.  If you like these marvelous micro-brassicae, I'm sure you've heard of pairing Brussels sprouts and bacon.  These two things are a match made in heaven, and with that line of thinking, I decided to introduce some humble sprouts to hot Spanish chorizo.  Surely, they would get along.

You can use any variety of chorizo (Spanish, Mexican, or the Portuguese chouriço) or pork sausage for that matter (andouille, linguiça, and Italian would all work well), but I chose Spanish because I like it the best, and I knew the smoked paprika in the sausage would compliment the Brussels sprouts. "What's the difference between Spanish and Mexican chorizo?" you ask.  Spanish chorizo is cured or fermented, made of chopped pork and seasoned with smoked paprika and white wine, while the more widely available Mexican pork sausage uses ground meat, crushed chiles and white vinegar.  There are also two main varieties of Spanish chorizo: hot and sweet.

Chicken Breast in Red Wine Sauce, Polenta, and Brussels Sprouts

Although the chorizo makes this dish unbelievably satisfying and flavorful, the main point of this post is to show you how to roast Brussels sprouts.  Simply remove the sausage from the equation, compensate with some extra seasoning (I was relying on the chorizo for salt), and follow the directions in the video, and you'll have plain roasted sprouts.

Don't just settle for that, though.  Try different flavor combinations!  Feel free to use any neutral or flavored oil with a high smoke point, rather than olive oil.  Coriander would be nice, as would balsamic and apple cider vinegars.

One final thing of note: my Brussels sprouts took around 30 minutes to cook.  This time varies by a couple of minutes from batch to batch, but quartering, like I did in the video, will ensure a much faster cooking time (not surprisingly), as well as creating more surface area for browning in the oven (more flavor).  I sometimes just cut them in half if the sprouts aren't very large, but this usually adds about 10 minutes to the total cooking time*.

Adopt this technique and you'll have a foolproof way to cook incredible, healthful Brussels sprouts that work for a weeknight dinner side, or an elegant dinner party.

* When halving sprouts instead of quartering, I usually wait until 20 minutes to stir, and check in 20 minute intervals after that.  They usually take about 40 minutes, compared to 30, when cut in quarters.



Ingredients:

1 1/4 lb Brussels sprouts, quartered
1 1/2 oz hot Spanish chorizo (about 1 1/2 inch piece)
1 T olive oil (not extra virgin, that would burn at high oven temps)
~1 1/2 t garlic powder
salt and black pepper to taste*

w/ Chorizo 4 servings	Calories (g)	Protein (g)	Carbs (g)	Fat (g)	Sodium (mg)	Sugar (g)
Total:	559	29	52	32	1,153	12
Per Serving:	140	7	13	8	288	3

 

Plain 4 servings	Calories (g)	Protein (g)	Carbs (g)	Fat (g)	Sodium (mg)	Sugar (g)
Total:	363	19	51	16	622	12
Per Serving:	91	5	13	4	156	3

Place in oven preheated to 400° F.  After 15 minutes, stir sprouts and chorizo, and continue to cook in 15 minute intervals until done (If you cut the sprouts in quarters, you should only need around 30-35 minutes of cooking time).   

*I used a big pinch of salt (a bit more than 1/4 t) because the chorizo is salty.  When tasting for seasoning, make sure you get some of the chorizo with your sprouts so you know if you need to add extra salt at the end.

"Cheffy" Alternative

1. In an oven-safe saute pan, crisp up the diced chorizo in a big hunk of duck fat or butter.
2. Add in your quartered Brussels sprouts and saute for a minute or two, adding in garlic powder, salt and pepper.
3. Finish in the oven.

Need metric?

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