What an amazing side dish this turned out to be! These are not the Brussels sprouts of your childhood, I assure you. These are tender and roasty. They’re sweet and crunchy. Tart and just the slightest bit bitter. Not in a bad way though!
– Did you know that our culture has shunned bitterness in foods. This has created a chronic digestive issue country-wide. Bitter flavors help signal your stomach to produce enough acid to thoroughly digest your meal. –
I grew up with buttered, frozen Brussels sprouts cooked in water on the stove top. (Sorry, mom. I just hated those.) Frozen Brussels sprouts often get mushy, leaving the eater to maybe, somewhat gag. Yeah, see …. You remember.
These Brussels sprouts are cooked from fresh! They’re abundant at this time of the year since they’re a fall crop in most of the country. They’re part of the cabbage family of cruciferous veggies and they have lots of health benefits.
We eat them often. Probably a couple times a month through the winter so I’m always looking for a new way to dress them. This “dressing” is perfect for the holidays because of its color scheme! Bright green sprouts dressed in vibrant red pomegranate seeds. Both seasonal and both beautiful!
A couple notes:
• These roast best on a large, dark steel pan so they can spread out and not steam each other. This pan is one of my favorites.
• There are plenty of videos online about opening a pomegranate. I watched this one, and this one and combined the techniques. It worked well but I sacrifice the white shirt I was wearing. Make sure to wear an apron or black shirt when dealing with pomegranates.
• For the hickory nuts, I found that I actually prefer them fresh, rather than toasted. You be the judge and do what you like best. To toast, I simply placed them in a dry skillet over medium heat and kept them moving around until they were browning. Remove from the heat and pan immediately or they will keep toasting (read turning black.)
• For low-carb, skip the syrup on top and go easy on the pom seeds.
[tasty-recipe id=”4336″]