Years ago, when I was still in my anti-vegetable rebellion phase, I never in a million years thought that Brussels sprouts would become one of my favorite foods. Most people hate them, and I found a plausible explanation: “Brussels sprout afficionados attribute the hatred of the sprouts to overcooking, which releases sulphur compounds in the vegetables that give it an unpleasant smell.” Wait, there are Brussels sprout afficionados?
Besides the flavor, I love that the sprouts look like they belong in a movie titled “Honey, I Shrunk the Cabbages!”. I asked my mother-in-law last week how she makes them, and her method yielded delicious, soft morsels of sprouty goodness. Here’s how I did it:
Rinse the sprouts and cut off the bottom stem slightly, remove any hard leaves. Place the sprouts in a pan with about 1″ of water, and a few tablespoons of butter. (My mother-in-law said to add a little caraway seed, which gives them good flavor). Steam for about 8 minutes, give or take a couple minutes, lifting the lid a few times to release some steam (this gets rid of the sulphur flavor). Once water is absorbed and Brussels sprouts are soft, they’re done.
Do NOT overcook, they’ll just get gross, and then Brussels sprouts’ bad rap will be perpetuated. GIVE BRUSSELS SPROUTS A CHANCE!
If you’d like to read about different ways of preparing Brussels sprouts, here’s a list of methods on the Whole Foods website.
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