Thursday, November 1, 2012

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Crabapple and Maple Syrup

I am convinced Brussels sprouts have magical powers.  You try them.  And maybe you hate them.  But you can't stop thinking about them.  And you cant resist buying them the next time you see them because they are so cute.  And then you make them again.  And your feelings have warmed up to them.  And this continues until you have fallen madly in love, and you don't really know why.  Most definitely a magic vegetable!

I might have picked up crabapples at the market purely because of how adorable they looked.  Ok, I definitely picked them up for that reason.  And then I thought, well if these are so cute and tiny, and Brussels sprouts are so cute and tiny - then maybe they would work well together! My reasoning skills leave much to be desired, obviously.  But regardless of how I managed to get these two together, I liked the how the sweet tang of crabapple paired with our miniature cabbage friends, the Brussels sprouts.  The maple syrup, bacon, and rosemary ended up making it a dish we can't get out of our minds.


Ingredients
4 cups halved Brussels sprouts
1 small red onion, chopped
8 thickly sliced crabapples
4 slices bacon, chopped

2-3 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 sprig rosemary, leaves chopped
kosher salt
white pepper

Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, toss Brussels sprouts, red onion, crabapples, and bacon all together.  In a small bowl, whisk maple syrup, vinegar, olive oil, and rosemary.  Pour the maple syrup mixture over the Brussels sprouts and coat.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Place on a baking sheet or 9 x 13 baking pan and roast for about 35 minutes, until the sprouts have cooked through and have developed some nice caramelization.

15 comments:

  1. What a great use of crabapples! This may very well show up on Thanksgiving =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do like Brussels Sprouts, but I haven't had a lot of luck cooking them myself. Maybe I should have tried this recipe. (You just can't beat cute and tiny.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Whoa! Talk about an interesting flavour combination!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love Brussels sprouts and everything's better with bacon. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have been craving these cute little sprouts lately! I love the flavor combo you created, so unique as always :) I've never seen crabapples sold in stores before I wish they did, I've grown up with the trees and may have snacked on one or two :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love brussels, and they sound perfect with the sweet crabapples. You are too clever!

    ReplyDelete
  7. These brussel sprouts are killing me. I want to grab that bowl off the screen and eat them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I never thought I would want to eat Brussels sprouts but this looks too good :)

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm one of the oddballs that love Brussels sprouts. They're so perfect roasted--I love the flavors you've added to them!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yup, you've put me in the mood for Brussels sprouts again. I may make them for Thanksgiving this year...I will get the whole bowl for myself! Lovely combination of flavors!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I found that I adore Brussels sprouts as long as some sort of pork is made with them. This looks like a delicious recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I've never met a Brussels sprout I didn't like! NOM!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I agree about magical powers. I actually never had Brussel sprouts when I was in Japan, and the reason first time I tried this was because they look like mini cabbage and thought it's so cute! Since then I usually have some Brussel sprouts in my fridge, and when they are season I eat as much as I can! My favorite recipe is similar to yours minus maple syrup and I will DEFINITELY use it next time! Thanks for the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  14. This sounds delicious. I usually stir-fry brussel sprouts with some garlic, Hoi Sin sauce and maybe some ginger, and salt and pepper to taste, the Chinese way..hehe.. I will add this to one of the weekend Western meal repotoire ;)!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...