Sautéed Brussels sprouts with lemon, garlic and cheese

While I'm trying to decide what to do with the bag of lovely and fresh Brussels sprouts that I bought from my local Farmers Market, it's time to post the first ever Brussels sprout recipe here on Nami-Nami. This on-the-hob method of preparing Brussels sprouts has been tested in our kitchen few times already, and it's really quick and rather effortless. Although I have a feeling that the next batch of Brussels sprouts (called rooskapsas or "rose cabbage" in Estonian :)) will be roasted in the oven and seasoned with some crispy bacon, then it's good to have a pan-fry and vegetarian method in the recipe archives as well.

So here we go.

Sautéed Brussels sprouts with lemon, garlic and cheese
(Rooskapsad sidruni ja küüslauguga)
Serves 4 to 6

1 kg Brussels sprouts (about 2 pounds)
4 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves
1 lemon, juiced and zested
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a few Tbsp grated hard cheese (Parmesan or something similar)

Clean the sprouts - trim the root end and remove the floppy outer leaves, if necessary. Halve or quarter the Brussels sprouts, depending on their size.

Heat oil in a large heavy frying pan. Add the prepared sprouts and fry gently for 7-10 minutes, tossing every now and then, until they're soft and caramelised and lovely golden brown all round. Few minutes before reaching that stage add the chopped garlic to the pan as well.

Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice and zest. Heat for another 1-2 minutes, then taste again for seasoning.

Sprinkle with grated hard cheese, and serve immediately.

My cookbook launch on November 11, 2013

Photo by Päivi Palts.

My third cookbook came out in early November (there will be a blog post about the book!), and last Monday there was a small launch party at the Rahva Raamat bookstore in Tallinn. My dear friend Ximena Maier (you'll surely know her food blog Lobstersquad) did the illustrations for the book again. It's as striking as the first one, don't you agree?



They certainly stand out on the bookshelves!

Back to the book launch party. Here's me and my lovely agent, Reelika Rahu, flipping through the pages of the book:

Photo by Andres Haabu

Me welcoming the people and talking briefly about the book. Take note that my stockings are matching the colour of my newest cookbook :)  
Photo by Andres Haabu


Photo by Päivi Palts


Photo by Päivi Palts

This lovely lady, Maret, is a good friend of my mother-in-law. She's also a great fan of Nami-Nami recipes and loved the previous book (or so I'm told). The beetroot phali recipe in the Georgian chapter has caught her attention. Or is it the egg and walnut salad?

Photo by Päivi Palts

Time to sign the books! I was impressed how many people turned up and was signing the books for well over an hour!

Photo by Andres Haabu


Photo by Päivi Palts.


Photo by Päivi Palts.


Photo by Päivi Palts


Photo by Päivi Palts


Photo by Päivi Palts

One of the Nami-Nami fans, my friend Eva Pettinen of the Flexus Pilates Studio:

Photo by Päivi Palts

I don't know who this little sweet girl was, but she had a lovely name and she told me that she always uses Nami-Nami to look for recipe inspiration :)


It was a cookbook, so obviously there was food at the launch party :)
Photo by Päivi Palts.

The purple dip is beetroot borani (recipe in the Persian chapter; also available here on the blog). On the front you'll see cheese and herb filled filo "cigars" (recipe in the Lebanese chapter). There's a bowl in the middle, filled with black pudding profiteroles (a recipe in my Christmas cookbook). Not pictured is a big plate with two different types of cookies from the Swedish chapter:

Photo by Päivi Palts.

The filo rolls and the Swedish cookies were baked by my dear friend and a talented baker, American-born Heidi Park. Heidi also did the catering for my first cookbook launch party back in December 2010. I'm so lucky to have met her and call her my friend:
Photo by Kristjan.

Ok, back to food. Marinated aubergine/eggplant slices, a recipe in the Italian chapter:
 
Photo by Päivi Palts.

A special thanks goes to Põltsamaa Felix, who provided the drinks - juice for the kids and their beautiful dessert wine Põltsamaa Kuldne 2005 for the grown-ups (again, they provided the drinks for the previous launch party as well). Here's my sweet daughter Nora (4 y 9 m) enjoying a glass of Põltsamaa's pear nectar (pirninektar) while chitchatting to her friend Taavi:

Photo by Päivi Palts.

There was also the wonderful bottled mineral water from Georgia, Borjomi, which, of course, is the perfect drink to go with the recipes in the Georgian chapter:

Photo by Borjomi Estonia

And last, but not least, there was some wine, courtesy of Pernod Ricard Estonia. We drank Tamada Mukuzani from Georgia, and San Simone Perlae Naonis Millsesimato Prosecco DOC from Italy:

Photo by Reet Zimmer

A huge thank you to everybody who made it and a huge thank you to everybody who helped to organise the launch party.

Oven roasted cabbage steaks recipe

Sometimes you come across a great and simple recipe that appeals to you instantly. These roasted cabbage "steaks" caught my attention at a food bloggers' Facebook chat few days ago, and I made the dish just hours after reading about it. I had made roasted cabbage slices with lemon from Kalyn's Kitchen before, several times, actually, so I knew I'd love roasted cabbage. This was very similar recipe, though the cabbage was cut into thick slices instead of wedges, and garlic was used to season the cabbage instead of lemon juice.

Cheap as chips, suits pretty much all known diets (Paleo, LCHF, vegetarian/vegan, gluten-free), overall a great way to serve that humble cabbage to your family and friends.

Oven-roasted cabbage steaks
(Küpsekapsas)
Serves 4 to 6

Adapted from Everyday Maven, originally Martha Stewart's recipe. Martha suggests you sprinkle a tablespoon of caraway or fennel seeds on top and I can see how that would work really well. Next time!

1 head of green cabbage, preferably organic
olive oil
a few garlic cloves, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 200 C/400 F.

Brush a baking sheet lightly with oil.

Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage, then cut the cabbage from top to bottom (e.g. the root end) into 1-1,5 cm thick slices ("steaks"). Place onto the baking sheet.

Scatter about half of the garlic on top, season generously with salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil.



Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25-30 minutes, until the "cabbage steaks" are golden brown on edges.

Carefully flip the cabbage slices over, scatter the rest of the garlic on top, season and drizzle with oil. Return the oven and bake for another 20-30 minutes, until cabbage is cooked and golden brown around the edges.

Serve hot.



Got leftovers? Chop the cabbage and use in those dishes:
Finnish mince and cabbage gratin
Estonian cabbage and mince stew